Taste of Chicago- Chicago, IL

Published On: Mar 14, 2007


Chicago's Grant Park. Over seventy restaurants brought together in one of the largest food festivals in the United States. Live music in a wide variety of styles presented nightly, free of charge. Beginning in the last week of June and lasting right up until the Fourth of July each year, these elements come together for the annual Taste of Chicago Festival.

The now week-long Taste of Chicago Festival began more than twenty five years ago as a one day event held as a part of Chicago's Fourth of July celebration. Since then, the Taste of Chicago Festival has continued to grow and to evolve into one of the biggest festivals in Chicago.

The city of Chicago's Fourth of July celebration is still a large part of the Taste of Chicago. Annually, the Independence Day Eve celebration takes place during the city's food festival, complete with a large fireworks display that is set off over Lake Michigan.

Why are the city's Independence Day fireworks set off on the third of July rather than on July 4th? The reason in simple: the Taste of Chicago's organizers planned it this way to avoid the interruption of other events in Chicago's suburban areas.

Of course, the Taste of Chicago is not just an Independence Day Celebration. It's not just a Chicago food festival. While there are plenty of Chicago-style foods - Chicago-style pizza, Chicago-style hot dogs - there is much more to the festival than that.

You will be able to sample dishes that are prepared by chefs from a wide variety of Chicago's restaurants. You will be able to sample barbecued ribs. Or you can try Italian sausage. But more importantly, when you are at the Taste of Chicago, you should be sure to get a taste of the wide variety of ethnic and regional foods that the people of Chicago are known for.

Feed your ears by listening to live music - folk, blues, Latin styles and more - in the evenings throughout the week or wait until the Chicago Country Music Festival that takes place during the festival week. Feed your spirit with a visit to the Taste of Chicago's Living Pavilion. There you will be able to learn more about gardening, about traditions such as Feng Shui and about treatments that can help you to live a fuller more comfortable life such as massage therapy.

You will also be able to learn to feed your body by participating in a class or demonstration put on by on of the chefs involved in the Taste of Chicago.

Or, if you need to work up an appetite before you can take it all in, participate in the annual Race to Taste five kilometer run or two mile walk. You will be able to register in advance, participate in the race and receive a number of rewards, including a strip of free Taste tickets - redeemable at any of the food festival's booths. Along with the Race to Taste run for adults, families can share their time at the interactive family fitness zone or sign their kids up for a kids only race.

No matter how you choose to enjoy the Taste of Chicago festival, when you attend, you are sure to understand why the event has become one of the most popular festivals in Chicago.
 



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