Ready for the Taste of the Illinois Valley? Here’s everything you need to know

Fans of food, live music and family fun are happy will be happy to welcome back the Taste of the Illinois Valley in Peru.

The four-day event features activities for all ages.

Local food vendors, a kids fun zone, a beer garden and craft village are all part of the festival. No charge for admission is required for entry to the kids fun zone or to the beer garden.

The event will kick off Thursday, Aug. 5, in Centennial Park in Peru and run through Sunday, Aug. 8. The festivities will be open from 3 to 10 p.m. Thursday and Friday, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.

Many local food trucks and vendors are scheduled to be in attendance, such as Passini’s Wood Fired Pizza, Maria’s Pizza, Mickey’s Massive Burritos, Gunsmoke Grill, among others.

Aside from the food, many musical acts are scheduled to perform as Billy Barroo will take the stage on 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday and 303 from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday.

Visitors on Saturday will have the opportunity to see two music acts as Written Warning and Emma Zinck are slated to perform from 2 to 5 p.m. and 6 to 9 p.m., respectively.

Stage 2 Clingers will help close out the event as they will take the stage from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. Sunday. The music will be winding down around 9 p.m. as the park will need to be cleared by 10 p.m.

The Taste of the Illinois Valley also will be filled with events for kids, such as bounce houses, a fire truck slide and inflatable obstacle courses. They will be available on Thursday and Sunday. Sunday will be Public Safety Day as firefighters, police officers and EMS responders will be present and kids will be able to touch a truck.

On Friday and Saturday, kids will be treated to a zip line, rock wall, eurobungy, playground jump and a triple lindy dry slide. Face painting by Teanna Cattani will be available throughout the weekend starting Friday.

The Starved Rock Runners will be hosting a Taste 5K sponsored by the Peru Recreational Department. Registration will take place from 7 to 7:45 a.m. on the day of the race.

The race will begin at 8 a.m. Saturday as awards will be given to the top male and female finishers in the many age groups.

The Taste of the Illinois Valley will include a Craft Village featuring more than 30 local vendors showcasing their products.

The craft village will be available from 4 to 9 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.

50/50 raffle tickets have been sold over the last few months by the city of Peru and the pot has continued to grow to $3,500. The winner of the 50/50 drawing will be announced at 4 p.m. Sunday. The selected number holder does not need to be present to win.

Tickets are $5 each and will be available for purchase throughout the duration of the Taste of the Illinois Valley.

The city of Peru is looking for volunteers to assist with the kids fun zone. Sign-up forms can still be found on the city’s website or you can volunteer by contacting Director of Parks and Recreation Adam Thorson at athorson@peru.il.us or 815-200-5058.