The hugely popular Taste of Sunnyside food crawl will return to the neighborhood for its 16th year on Oct. 4, bringing an expected record-breaking crowd of over 1,500 people to sample Sunnyside’s best bites.
More than 60 local restaurants and businesses will participate in the upcoming food crawl, which runs from 1 to 7 p.m. and features a neighborhood block party near the Sunnyside Arch on 46th Street between Queens Boulevard and Greenpoint Avenue.
The food festival, organized by the Sunnyside Shines Business Improvement District, will also feature roving musical artists, installations from local artists and family-friendly activations.
Tickets will go on sale on Sep. 15, starting at $55. Sunnyside Shines will also name the participating businesses during the second week of September.
Check-in for the event will take place at Lowery Plaza at 40th Street and Queens Boulevard, with a separate check-in station located underneath the elevated subway tracks at 46th Street and Queens Boulevard. There will also be two shuttle buses for guests who would like transportation along the event route.
Dirk McCall de Palomá, executive director of Sunnyside Shines, said Taste of Sunnyside will take place across six commercial corridors in the neighborhood, highlighting the dynamic culinary scene that the neighborhood has to offer.
Attendees go door-to-door to sample food and drinks from participating businesses, which set up stands in front of their establishments to allow ticket holders to sample their cuisine.
Taste of Sunnyside was changed to a crawl format in 2021 due to safety concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic and to allow attendees to better engage with the participating businesses, with long lines forming outside a number of restaurants throughout the day last year.
McCall de Palomá said the crawl format has been an overwhelming success, stating that it shows attendees where specific restaurants are located in the neighborhood and allows them to connect with restaurant and bar owners.
“You’re meeting the people behind the food, and you’re trying one of the best things on the menu,” McCall de Palomá said after the 2024 event.
Speaking ahead of the 2026 food crawl, McCall de Palomá said it would be the biggest event that Sunnyside Shines has ever hosted.
“Taste of Sunnyside is back and even bigger than ever,” McCall de Palomá said in a statement. “We have well over 60 participants and expect over 1,500 attendees who will get the chance to try a wide array of cuisines across six Sunnyside commercial corridors.”
McCall de Palomá encouraged anyone interested in attending the event to secure their tickets early, noting that the event “always sells out.”
The event is sponsored by a number of local organizations, including Metropolitan Park/Queens Future as prime sponsor. Local Sunnyside organizations Cosmopolitan Houses and the Independent Drivers Guild are also sponsoring the upcoming food crawl alongside Assemblymember Claire Valdez and Council Member Julie Won.
A host of other local organizations and businesses are also sponsoring the upcoming event.