What to expect at Taste of Chicago 2025

Taste of Chicago returns to Grant Park this Friday, September 5 through Sunday, September 7, inviting the public to enjoy the beloved festival with free admission. The weekend promises three days of culinary exploration, vibrant performances and community celebration against the lakefront skyline.

During the Grant Park weekend, over 45 vendor booths and 17 food trucks will line the park, serving everything from iconic Chicago staples like Eli’s Cheesecake, Harold’s Chicken, Connie’s Pizza, and The Original Rainbow Cone, alongside exciting new additions such as Lexington Betty Smoke House, Crave Cookies, Chillafry, Khmai Cambodian Fine Dining, and more. Roughly 20 percent of this year’s participants are making their Taste of Chicago debut.

Every evening at 5 p.m., the Main Stage comes alive with headline performances by Chicago-born Grammy-winning rapper Lupe Fiasco on Friday, pop‑R&B powerhouse JoJo on Saturday, and merengue sensation Elvis Crespo on Sunday. Alongside them, the Goose Island Stage will spotlight emerging local DJs and acts playing genres from jazz and R&B to house and bachata (a style of dance from the Dominican Republic).

Daytime in Grant Park offers more than food and sound. Chicago SummerDance provides free dance lessons across a spectacular range of genres: salsa, footwork, flamenco, bachata, hip hop, K‑pop, line dancing, Afrobeats and more, welcoming dancers of all ages and skill levels. Family-friendly offerings include inflatables, interactive art activities, the Disney Resorts Family Village, and the return of a 112‑foot Ferris wheel with ADA-accessible gondolas. Saturday’s cheesecake highlight comes in the form of Eli’s Cheesecake’s birthday celebration, where a 1,000‑pound cake will be ceremonially cut and shared, while supplies last.

Read More on Chicago Star

• Radiohead’s announcement of first tour in seven years garners unexpected controversy

• Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo proposes ending vaccine mandates in state schools

• Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum to celebrate monarch migration, signaling the start of fall 

• The Cookie Bar by Summer House opens first standalone location in Streeterville 

In a nod to Chicago’s modern festival flair, this year’s schedule also includes a Saturday evening drone and fireworks show, illuminating the sky above Grant Park at around 8:15 p.m.

As the world’s largest free-admission food festival, Taste of Chicago has evolved since its Fourth of July debut in 1980 to become a signature celebration of Chicago’s culinary diversity and community spirit.