The second day of Taste of Chicago saw crowds growing throughout the day. But the event has scaled back from peak attendance of 3.6 million people in 1999. Organizers did not have an exact number but did say that attendance is up.
They told that 70% of the success is reliant on something they can’t control — the weather.
Organizers say they’ve heard from a lot of attendees that the schedule change worked out to their advantage. They pushed the event from its traditional Fourth of July time slot to accommodate this year’s Nascar event.
“And a truly Chicago day as well,” said Taste of Chicago Manager Neal Heitz. “Sunday we have got the Bears versus Pack at home. Taste of Chicago going on. Lit Fest. I mean, how much more in Chicago can you get? You should walk up to them and ask them how they are doing because they will say, ‘We don’t have time to talk.’ That’s how you know they’re doing OK. If you have too much time to talk, it’s a whole different story.”
There was even a collective festival-wide Cha-Cha Slide to honor DJ Casper that helped cheer everyone up.
However you celebrated the weekend and whatever you ate, we hope it was delicious!
