Lisa Alessi Nicastro named grand-prizewinner of poster art contest for Taste of Buffalo Presented by Tops

Tops Friendly Markets Press Release & Images

Tops Friendly Markets and the Taste of Buffalo are pleased to announce that Lisa Alessi Nicastro, a talented artist from Orchard Park, is the grand-prizewinner of the 2025 Taste of Buffalo Tops poster art contest.

Nicastro was the winner for artists in the 18-year-old-plus age group. Her artwork will be used in the creation of the official festival poster. In addition, Nicastro will receive a $1,000 prize.

Taste of Buffalo artwork by Violetta Gargano.

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Violetta Gargano, a resident of Eden, 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.

What makes this year’s winners even more unique is that they are teacher and student, respectively, from Eden Middle and High School. Nicastro encouraged her students to take part in the contest and told her students, “If you do it, I’ll do it too!”

Neither Nicastro nor Violetta had any idea either had won until after the results were revealed.

"Buffalo is fortunate to not only be home to a nationally renowned food scene, it also is home to countless talented artists, which makes our poster art contest an initiative that we look forward to every year," said chair of the 2025 Taste of Buffalo, Matthew Reis. "Once again, our winners have captured the essence of the Taste in a way that showcases what makes our event and region special through their artistic expression. The Taste congratulates Lisa and Violetta on their incredible winning pieces, and extends our thanks to everyone who submitted!"

This year’s Taste of Buffalo is taking place July 12-13 in Niagara Square and on a portion of Delaware Avenue. Presale food ticket vouchers will also be available for purchase at Tops Markets locations beginning in June.

Headquartered in Williamsville, Tops Markets operates a robust network of 152 grocery stores spanning New York, Pennsylvania and Vermont, including one franchise location in Lewiston. Discover more at www.topsmarkets.com.