Eric Sizemore, born and raised in Champaign, has experienced the Taste of Champaign-Urbana countless times in the past. With his young daughter Sydney in tow, he knew exactly what brought him to West Side Park on a sunny Saturday afternoon.

“Bouncing castles, primarily,” Sizemore said with a laugh.

Sizemore was one of thousands who flocked to downtown Champaign during the weekend to experience the best in local-area food, art, music and – to Sydney’s delight – inflatable games in the “Fun Zone” family area.

The three-day festival, now in its 38th year, was furnished by the Champaign Park District to benefit its Youth Scholarship Fund.

Local businesses also enjoyed the perks of participating in the festival.

With the economy sagging and the soaring cost of gas stinging many small businesses, the Taste helped to jump start sales for local-area shops.

Some 26 restaurants selected by the Champaign Park District, lined the web of sidewalks across West Side Park as attendees mingled and sampled fare from restaurants including Blues BBQ, Fryer Tuck’s, Karen’s Cheesecake Confections and the ubiquitous Dippin’ Dots.

“It really puts your name out there, I think,” said Matt Scheff, manager of MezzaLuna restaurant. “It really helps boost your advertising, and people have a chance to taste your food. It’s a cheap way to get a taste, more or less.”

Paul Curtis, co-owner of Curtis Orchard in Champaign, won’t open his business for the year until July 23rd, but regularly uses the Taste to increase his orchard’s exposure and customer base.

“It’s an excitement to be part of the festival. We put out some brochures and so on. A lot of people didn’t even know there was an orchard in the area,” Curtis said.

Aside from the usual orchard fare, Curtis featured goods from his bakery and an apple cider slush at his booth.

While he said that the crowds seemed slightly smaller than in previous years, the reason for the festival’s continued popularity with both attendees and businesses remained obvious.

“It gives people something to do on the weekends,” Curtis said. “They can meet their friends, and spend some money. It’s a good time of year for us, too. They used to do this in August, and that was hard to do because we were open. Then they moved it to June, and that was great for us.”

Besides the food vendors, local bands played a variety of music on two stages, and other booths featured local political parties, businesses and 50 artists and artisans.

Peggy Purkhosrow said she looked forward most to browsing through jewelry and pottery booths as she arrived at the festival.

“That’s a big aspect of it, one big reason why we come out was to see the vendors and support local businesses,” Purkhosrow said.

The Champaign Park District’s emphasis on making the event environmentally-friendly was also prevalent across the park grounds.

Recycling bins were put up next to nearly every garbage can, and a bike corral had a constant flow of patrons during the event. Locals who rode their bike instead of driving received a voucher for a free beverage from the Park District.

Rick Garinger, who rode his bike 14 blocks to the Taste along with his son P.J., said he appreciated the steps taken to make the festival “greener” than in previous years.

“I think it’s certainly a good thing. Every little bit helps,” Garinger said as he wheeled his bike out of the corral.

Above all else, however, the event was a simple family-friendly retreat from the grind of the everyday, despite being located just blocks from the center of Champaign’s busy downtown area.

As Sizemore prepared to head for the “bouncing castles” and Sydney grabbed a bright yellow balloon, he said it was clear why the Taste continues to bring in locals every June.

“You see everybody in town here. This is the place to be, once a year,” he said.