CHICAGO — Taste of Chicago drew large crowds to Grant Park on Thursday, with dozens of restaurants and food trucks serving visitors along the lakefront. The Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events organized the event.

The festival, one of the largest free outdoor food events in the United States, features neighbourhood restaurants, pop-up vendors and free concerts on the Petrillo Music Shell stage. The department has used recent editions to showcase small and minority-owned food businesses alongside established Chicago staples.

This year's programme spread offerings across Grant Park and satellite neighbourhood events earlier in the summer. The department introduced this format to broaden participation and spread economic benefit beyond the downtown core to local eateries across the city.

City tourism officials have promoted the festival as a driver of summer visitor spending, coinciding with a busy stretch of outdoor events in Grant Park. Local restaurateurs taking part said the exposure offered a valuable boost during the peak summer trading season.

The Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events said the festival remained a centrepiece of the city's summer calendar and celebrated the diversity of its dining scene.