A Taste of the Taste

Two weeks ago we noticed several tents pop up in the middle of Grant Park and wondered what they were for.  The Taste of Chicago was coming up, but they couldn't possibly need to set up over a week in advance, could they?  It seems they did as over 6.5 million people participated in one of the summer's biggest events.  However, we were not included in that number as we did not do any actual "tasting".  (In my opinion, calling it a Taste is a tad misleading as all the restaurants serve full-size portions.  You have to cross your fingers they have something good in a "taste" size.)  We did participate by attending two of the free concerts put on in conjunction with the Taste.  First up, Broadway in Chicago put on a few songs from the shows currently running or coming soon to Chicago.

 Shrek the Musical.

The Stanley Cup made an appearance!

A guy from an acrobatic show did some awesome tricks with an over-sized hula hoop.

We couldn't pass up the Chiquita hats.

Next up, we saw Rob Thomas in concert!  For free!  And he played for two hours!  If you're wondering, he's really good live.  And he let us in on a secret... Matchbox Twenty is going back into the studio this fall to record another album!  Sweet!

This lady was jamming.

I like how mellow this guy looks.

Blatantly defying the "No Video/Audio Recording" sign.

I couldn't pass up taking a quick picture of this guy... too funny!

In summary, the Taste of Chicago provided us with free entertainment during the evenings for a week, but we weren't thrilled about the food choices (or prices).  Can't wait to see who they bring to the stage next year!