Combined fests offer new 'taste' of Wheaton
The organizers of two Wheaton festivals have come together to create "a bigger and better" multiday celebration they hope will become a summertime tradition.
A Taste of Wheaton opens at 4 p.m. today with a ribbon-cutting ceremony, a cookout and carnival rides in downtown. It runs through Sunday with a long list of offerings, including bingo, food vendors, tournaments and musical entertainment.
Organized by Wheaton Park District and the Wheaton Chamber of Commerce, the Taste replaces two annual festivals: Cream of Wheaton and Autumnfest.
Lisa Dahms, the chamber's director of membership, said the park district and chamber saw the need to work together.
"What we wanted to do is offer the community a better and bigger event," Dahms said. "But in this economy and everything else, it just makes sense for us to have a cooperative event, versus us putting on two separate events."
The end result is a five-day celebration that brings together the best aspects of both Autumnfest and Cream of Wheaton.
For example, the Cosley Zoo Run for the Animals - which has long a part of Cream of Wheaton - is on Saturday. And the beer garden and musical entertainment that has been a staple of Autumnfest will be part of the Taste.
While plenty of local eateries will have booths along Wheaton Avenue, the Taste is about more than food. In fact, organizers say the name refers to everything Wheaton has to offer.
"We wanted to give everybody the opportunity to see all the different businesses, organizations and restaurants," Dahms said. "The Taste name is more about the versatility of the community."
When it comes to food, the vendor lineup includes Arrowhead Restaurant & Bar, Genoa Pizza, Egg Harbor Café, Ye Olde Town Inn, Bojo's Chicago Classics, R&S Concessions, Pad Thai, Inc, Jamba Juice, Slinky's Great American Foods, Dippin Dots and Baja Fresh.
The carnival has been expanded and will offer 19 rides along three blocks of Liberty Street. Other events include an arts and crafts fair, a business expo and an expo featuring clubs and organizations. There will be live performances by the Wheaton Municipal Band, Chicago Gold, 7th Heaven and others.
Some of the new features offered at the Taste are "Lean & Green" kids activities, a corn on the cob eating contest and a special appearance by former Chicago Bears star Steve McMichael.
Traditionally, Cream of Wheaton drew 10,000 to 15,000 people. If the weather cooperates, organizers are hoping to exceed those numbers with the Taste.
"We are expecting grander numbers just based on the days that we added and some of the entertainment and activities," said Margie Wilhelmi, the park district's marketing and fund development manager.
While admission is free, there is a fee for the carnival rides, beer garden and some activities. Tickets for the carnival rides are $1.25. Most of the kids rides require two tickets and adult rides require three or four tickets.