Former CCHS Coach, alumna to host inaugural Taste of the Town community run

Taste of the Town is coming back to downtown Hopkinsville for its sixth year in August, and this year’s festival will feature inaugural 8k and 5k runs.

Taste of the Town is an annual festival hosted by Vansauwa’s Tacos and Vegan Eats at Founder Square, and it includes regional food trucks and music. The festival is also a chance for residents to celebrate the 8^th of August, also known as Emancipation Day, as it marks the day when enslaved people in west Kentucky and Tennessee learned of their freedom in the 1860s.

The runs were organized by Hopkinsville native Sherria Hester who is a Christian County High School alumna and a former Western Kentucky University track athlete. After graduating college, Hester coached cross country and track and field at CCHS. Hester currently works as a professional event coordinator in west Tennessee.

The festival organizers invited Hester to help plan the runs, and she says she was happy to take on the task because it is a chance to promote health and wellness to her community and to recognize Emancipation Day.

The runs kick off at 8 a.m. on August 8 at the Hopkinsville-Christian County Public Library Greenway Trailhead, where they will also end. Hester says check-in begins at 7 a.m. and those interested in participating in the runs can pre-register or register at the during check-in.

Hester says the runs are not competitive and participants are invited to complete them at their own pace.

Folks can register for the runs at Taste of the Town on Facebook. Taste of the Town is set or August 7 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. and August 8 from noon to 9 p.m.