Taste of C-U layman's awards

The Taste of C-U, one of Champaign's biggest annual events, was back again for its 39th year and had the Champaign Park District hard at work, but not for what you would originally think. As severe weather blew through Champaign, cancelling the Taste Friday night, crews were hard at work early in the morning and steady into the afternoon to help clear out debris and get the Taste up and running once again on Saturday. They did a very good job and did indeed get the taste up and running once again for another successful year.The Taste featured 27 different restaurant vendors, all of which were reviewed by a committee beforehand to ensure it was the best of its kind. Also featured were local bands as well as bands from around the Midwest who played on one of the two stages set up in the park. Another big attraction this year was the celebration of the Lincoln Bicentennial, which featured storytellers and music from the time period with Mr. Lincoln himself even making an appearance. More fun was added to the mix with new trivia games, inflatable castles, pony rides, and the sports zone, which left the kids occupied for hours. The arts section thrived this year as over 40 artists displayed their works for a crowd of all ages.

The proceeds from this year's taste went to benefit the Champaign Park District's Youth Scholarship Fund, which provides opportunities for youth who are unable to participate in recreational programs because of economic hardship.

This all sounds great right? But really, how good was the Taste of C-U this year? I created awards for both the good and the bad at the Taste this year and handed them out from either what I saw or heard from others about the taste this year. The awards are as follows:

Most Prepared Tent: Coldstone/Zelma's - Each of these vendors had a whopping number of workers helping around the tent and had a plan for when that big rush came.

Fan Favorite: Junior's Burgers - Juniors had the biggest line for the most amount of time by far and had the best customer satisfaction from the looks on Taste goer's faces after eating a delicious slider.

Best Deal: Garcia's Pizza - You could get a decent sized pizza and a nice cold drink for only four tickets while four tickets could get you just one item at most vendors tents.

Most Refreshing: Mahomet area Youth Club (sno-cone tent)/ Smoothie King - These tents provided a much needed frozen drink to cool off Taste goers in the ninety degree heat and did the job while tasting great.

Scariest Attraction: Adrenaline Rush - This inflatable soared up over kids heads and featured a very large, high-speed slide to keep the kids on the edge of their seat and help wear them out by nap time.

Felt most sorry for: Guy that sells popcorn and other snacks out of his old-school maroon vehicle - This guy was just begging for customers and I think I only saw one person come up to him for the whole duration that I was there.

For Family: Junior's Burgers - Once again, Juniors claims an award as they had the widest variety of age groups waiting in line for a delicious slider.

For Adults: The arts corner - The arts corner featured over 40 artists works and were a home decorators dream come true. Sorry, to bore you, kids.

For Kids: Kid Zone/Dippin Dots - The kid zone featured numerous inflatable's, game shows, and anything else a kid could dream of while a nice cup of dippin dots helped cool them off after a rough day of playing.

The taste was definitely a success this year and kudos to the park district for putting everything back together after being rained out Friday night. Only one complaint though, could someone turn on the air conditioner next year?