Overview Taste of Chicago is the city's free food festival in Grant Park, produced by DCASE with the Illinois Restaurant Association running the food side. Over five days in July it gathers dozens of neighborhood restaurants, pop-ups and food trucks, headline concerts, family programming and a closing drone and fireworks show on the lakefront. It is one of the largest free-admission food festivals in the world. On site The festival runs along Columbus Drive from Balbo to Monroe. Three title lounges, the Spirit Lounge, the Beer Hall and the Zero-Proof Lounge, sit on Buckingham Fountain Plaza, each a 30 by 55 foot space the sponsor programs with music, DJs, games and decor. Headliners play the Petrillo Music Shell, local acts play the Goose Island Stage, and chefs cook on a Chef's Stage. A Family Village, SummerDance lessons and a 112-foot Ferris wheel round it out. Vendors take cards only. Audience More than half of visitors come from out of town. About 39 percent are 18 to 34, a third bring children, and DCASE describes the crowd as younger and more diverse than at its other festivals, with a mix of incomes. Talent and Influencers Recent main-stage headliners were Common, Babyface, Beach Bunny, Julieta Venegas and Koffee. The Chef's Stage has featured Diana Dávila of Mi Tocaya Antojería, John Manion of Brasero and El Che, Carrie Nahabedian of Brindille and Maya-Camille Broussard of Justice of the Pies, and James Beard Award-winning restaurants sell next to longtime Taste favorites. Track record Taste has run in Grant Park for more than four decades. After a few years in September, it moved back to its traditional July slot and expanded to five days. Vendor rosters turn over every year, and more than a third of recent vendors were first-timers. Brand presence Goose Island names a stage, and Pepsi, the Illinois Lottery, Eli's Cheesecake, NRG Energy, Capital Vacations, Chicago Public Media, the Chicago Transit Authority and Millennium Garages support the festival. Rivian has activated here and called it an incredibly rewarding experience. DCASE sells a presenting sponsorship, the three title lounges, a Family Village sponsorship, space-only activations and case-by-case sampling.