Taste of Wheaton keeps getting bigger, better

Two changes in the recipe for Taste of Wheaton introduced in 2014 were so well-received that organizers are offering a second helping this year.

The annual celebration brings food, live entertainment, carnival rides, games, a beer garden, an arts and crafts fair, a business expo and a car exhibition to the city's downtown Thursday, June 4, through Sunday, June 7. The event is presented by the Wheaton Park District and the Wheaton Chamber of Commerce.

Like last year, the 2015 festival kicks off Thursday night with a pizza-lover's dream. Dubbed "Slice of Wheaton," the one-night pizza-tasting will feature five local pizzerias offering scaled-down portions so adventurous diners can stretch their appetites and sample more variety. The Slice goes from 4 to 9 p.m. on Wheaton Avenue.

The other innovation organizers deemed worth repeating is the expanded schedule of events on Sunday.

"We started offering the event on Sunday and we got a really good response," said Margie Wilhelmi, marketing director for the park district.

"We really focused on keeping the entertainment and momentum going," Wilhelmi said.

This year, the Sunday event schedule is robust.

"On Sunday, there will be more arts and crafts, entertainment, bands," said Kerry O'Brien, chamber executive director. "It's more a family event."

Wilhelmi said about 20 food vendors, most from Wheaton, will serve festival cuisine standbys such as barbecued meats, sweet corn, hot dogs, ice cream and smoothies along with eggs rolls, pad thai and tacos.

Carnival rides will set up along three blocks south of the tracks along Liberty Drive, from west of Hale Street to east of Main Street, Wilhelmi said.

Food vendors will be located in Memorial Park, just northwest of Main Street. The park, equipped with a band shell, also will host musical entertainment, the beer garden, the business expo and the arts and crafts fair, a collection of events organizers call the Market Place in the Park.

The Hat Guys are the musical headliners Thursday, followed by Hi-Infidelity Friday and 7th Heaven on Saturday. Each of those acts takes the stage at 8 p.m. and will be preceded by several bands earlier in the day. Three bands will play from noon to 6 p.m. Sunday.

O'Brien said the business expo is popular with chamber members and with Taste visitors.

"We do this because we want to help our members get in front of the community," O'Brien said.

"We typically have 50 or so businesses. They range from not-for-profit organizations to corporate businesses to Wheaton businesses," said Wilhelmi.

O'Brien said chamber members pitch in to help run the Taste with a volunteer corps of at least 100.

"Every shift of the beer garden takes about 10 people," she said, adding that among the groups handling shifts are Women in Business and the chamber's board of directors.

Taste of Wheaton also will feature a family area, Wilhelmi said, near Karlskoga Avenue. There, visitors will find face-painting and tie-dye stations, a caricature artist, a mural kids can color, a climbing wall and a bike valet.

A Fiero Car Club exhibition will set up on Hale Street from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, followed by a motorcycle show from noon to 7 p.m. Saturday. O'Brien said Hale Street will be closed to traffic Friday evening and all day Saturday.

Wilhelmi said the Cosley Zoo Run for the Animals, a Cosley Foundation fundraiser, also will be going on in conjunction with the Taste of Wheaton. Runners will take on 5K and 10K routes beginning at 7:30 a.m. Saturday. There's also a half-mile Zippity Zoo run.

Admission is free to Taste of Wheaton, Wilhelmi said.

O'Brien said this marks the seventh year the chamber has joined with the park district to present the Taste, formerly known as Cream of Wheaton.

"We both work hard to keep improving it," she said. "It just keeps growing."

If you go

What: Taste of Wheaton

When: 4 to 10 p.m. Thursday; 4 to 11 p.m. Friday; 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday; and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday

Where: Downtown Wheaton and Memorial Park, 208 W. Union Ave., Wheaton

Cost: Free admission

Info: wheatonparkdistrict.com or wheatonchamber.com