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2009 Taste of Champaign-Urbana at West Side Park »

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  400 W. University Ave. Champaign, IL 61820
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Summertime, where the living is easy, means spending time with friends and family, listening to good music that brings back good memories, eating loads of grilled food and basking in the rays of the sun. To begin summer 2009 in this fashion, the perfect event to attend happens to occur right in Champaign-Urbana this weekend — the Taste of CU.

Beginning Friday, June 19 at 5 p.m. and ending Sunday, June 21 at 6 p.m., the 39th annual Taste of CU will take place in Champaign’s Westside Park. Hosted by the Champaign Park District, the event will feature more than 27 of CU’s favorite food vendors, seven of them for the first time. The Taste will also showcase more than 40 different arts and crafts booths and two stages for free music. This year’s Taste also has a special stage for the children, Bilbrey Band Stage, which will feature storytelling and an Abraham Lincoln impersonator to celebrate Lincoln’s bicentennial. Admission is free, with a pack of six tickets costing $5.

“It brings the community together, right in our own backyard,” said Katie Flint, the special events manager for the Champaign Park District. “You don’t have to travel very far to find that fun family entertainment, and you don’t have to spend a lot of money. “

Created by the Champaign County Historical Museum in 1970, the Taste of CU began as a means to provide funding for the Champaign County Historical Museum. As the event became more popular, the organizers asked the CPD to take over. By combining the Taste with the arts and crafts festival that was being run by the CPD, the annual celebration grew to become one of the most popular events of the year within Champaign County. Each year, more than 50,000 people attend the two-and-a-half day event.

“It really is one of the premier events in CU each year,” Flint said.

All of the profits made from the Taste of CU go toward the Champaign Park District’s Youth Scholarship Fund, a program created by the CPD to give children in low-income families the opportunity to participate in CPD summer programs. The park district expects to see a rise in the turnout for this year’s Taste as more families are choosing to stay home, and it hopes to make enough money for a record number of applicants to the scholarship program this year.

“We’re expecting to raise around $30,000 this year for the Youth Scholarship Fund,” said Laura Auteberry, the marketing and development director for the Champaign Park District.

With everyone’s pockets feeling a little lighter these days, Flint said she hopes that this year’s Taste can be a great way for the entire community to enjoy the summer weather and celebrate the simple things in life.

“Especially in these economic times, people are still looking to come together as friends and family and celebrate the good things in their lives, the simple things,” Flint said. You don’t have to travel and go across the state to do that. Just go to your local park.”