Submitted image by Batavia artist Jill Pettigrew and press release:

Tops Friendly Markets and the Taste of Buffalo are pleased to announce that Jill Pettigrew, a talented artist from Batavia, is the Grand Prize Winner of the 2021 Taste of Buffalo Tops Poster Art contest.

Pettigrew was the winner for artists in the 18+ year old age group. Her artwork will be featured on the festival poster and in the event’s marketing materials. In addition, she will receive a $1,000 prize.

Anna Valece Bauer, a 17-year old resident of Williamsville, was the winner in the 13-17-year-old age group and will be presented with $500.

The prizes are courtesy of Tops Friendly Markets and The Taste of Buffalo.

“As is always the case, we were incredibly impressed with the talent of Western New York’s many artists who sent in entries for our poster contest,” said Amber Hartman, 2021 Taste of Buffalo chair.

“The Taste of Buffalo presented by Tops looks forward to sharing this year’s winning poster inside all of our participating restaurants and on the cover of our digital festival guide, which will be available on TasteofBuffalo.com.”

This year’s festival taking place July 10-11, will be back as a live event and is planned to take place in Niagara Square and on a portion of Delaware Avenue. This year’s festival will be modified to comply with any COVID-19 restrictions that may still be in place in July. 

About Taste of Buffalo presented by Tops

It is the nation's largest two-day food festival. The 38th annual Taste in 2021 will take place on July 10 and 11. The Taste is a not-for-profit organization with more than 1,000 volunteers helping to put on the annual event.

Approximately $541,000 has been raised at the festival for local charities including three $1,000 scholarships awarded last year to local high school seniors pursuing a culinary or hospitality-related degree. For more information, visit tasteofbuffalo.com, and find us @tasteofbuffalo on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.