The Facebook group Taste of Bellevue, Nebraska will host its 9th annual Summer Celebration in recognition of its launch date – July 5, 2015. The event has expanded each year and now people can participate on any of three Facebook groups: Taste of Bellevue, Nebraska; Bellevue 411; and Bellevue Biz.
In preparation for the event, local area restaurants and bakeries have donated hundreds of dollars in gift cards to be used as prizes. The summer celebration begins on Tuesday, June 18 and, while an end date has not yet been set, the giveaways will run until at least July 5th. New gift cards will be available to win each day.
The rules of the event are very simple. Each participating business will have a dedicated post and new posts will show up daily. Posts will feature pictures of some of their menu items and include information about the business, including location and days/hours of operation. If a person would like to enter to win one of the gift card prizes offered by that business, all they need to do is click LIKE on the post. If they want to be entered twice, they can leave a positive comment about the business. After roughly 24 hours, the post will be closed and winners will be selected.
A random number generator is used to select the winners. For example, if there were 1,500 likes and comments in total, the generator would pick a number between 1 and 1,500. If the number selected was 233, for example, whoever the 233rd person was (combining the likes and comments together) would be a winner of that giveaway.
Winners are typically asked to pick up their prize directly from the businesses within 7-10 days. They are also asked to bring a photo ID to verify their identity. Business owners are instructed not to hand over the prize without proper photo ID.
While the list of participating businesses is still growing, so far this year these local restaurants and bakeries will be participating in the online event: Stella’s Bar & Grill, El Arepón Venezuelan Food, John’s Grecian Delight, Catfish Lake at The Lodge, Swine Dining, The Special, Shug’s Comfort Food, Chocolat Abeille, Cake Expressions, Izmir Gyro House, Moran’s Grill, Jade Palace, The Light House Cafe, The Bánh Mì Shop, DJ’s Dugout, Cornhusker Nutrition, Roman Coin Pizza, Luigi’s Italian Restaurant, Ono Pinay Kitchen, Don & Millie’s, Roma Italian Restaurant, The Cake Specialist, and iPho#1.
Several businesses are also participating this year for the first time, including The Alley/Frank’s Pizza, Happy Buddha, Wild Chicken Grill, Papa Chuck’s Bar & Grill, Abelardo’s Mexican Grill, Sakai Sushi Train, Thirst Teas, and Achieve Physical Therapy.
If you would like to participate, but your local Bellevue restaurant or bakery is not listed above, please contact the Bellevue Times at admin@bellevuetimes.com to get added to the list.
Although it is not a part of the official rules, winners are highly encouraged to take a picture of what they used their gift card to purchase and post to one of the Facebook groups mentioned above. It is a great way to show appreciation to the participating businesses.
