TASTE OF OAK BROOK Village prepares for biggest annual event

BY CHUCK FIELDMAN | PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE VILLAGE OF OAK BROOK

Oak Brook Village Board member Michael Manzo has been a liaison to the village’s Taste of Oak Brook Committee since first being elected 12 years ago.And as village staff and officials prepare for another of Oak Brook’s largest annual event July 3, Manzo, who co-chairs the committee with fellow trustee Suresh Reddy, is more excited than ever. “First, we started meeting to plan earlier than we ever have before in the past,” he said. “That makes everything much more organized and allows for more good discussion so that we can have the best Taste of Oak Brook possible.”

Taste of Oak Brook was started in 2008 and has been held each year on the polo field, 700 Oak Brook Road, except for a three-year absence in

2019-2021. The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in Taste of Oak Brook being canceled in 2020 and 2021, and in 2019, the event was canceled because heavy rains made the grounds unsuitable to hold it.

An estimated crowd of about 15,000 showed up a year ago when Taste of Oak Brook returned, and Manzo believes the event has a bright future. “It needs to evolve and grow,” he said. “My goal for a while has been multiple days, and I think that’s something that very possibly could happen soon in the future. If not for COVID, I think it would have been a multiple day event by now. “I think the food vendors would love it because they’re already all set up for the one day. There’s also very little extra work that we’d have to do if we added a day because everything we do also would already be set up.”

Manzo said he believes that, at the very least, it’s worth giving Taste of Oak Brook a chance as a multiple-day event — likely July 3-4. “There’s really nothing to lose by trying it,” he said. “I think it will be very successful, but if it didn’t go particularly well, we could just go back to the one day event.”

While discussion about making Taste of Oak Brook a multiple-day happening will continue, the focus now is on preparing for the 2023 event. “I’m very excited that we’re bringing back live music this year, after only having a DJ last year,” Manzo said. “And the band we have booked has a very strong following, so we’ll probably get a lot new people coming out. That’s always a good thing for us because people are always so impressed with the big open space where we have Taste. They love the feeling of a great big picnic.”

The band schedule to perform July 3 is Sixteen Candles, which has been around since 2003 and performs an entire concert of popular 80s music. The live music, food vendors and activities, such as face painting, for kids, all are popular, but probably the highlight of each Taste of Oak Brook is the evening fireworks show. “I really like the fireworks show,” said Duff Rice of Duff Entertainment, an event company with which the village works for Taste. “I’ve been to a lot of fireworks shows all over, and this one for Taste of Oak Brook is longer and bigger than a lot of other shows.”

The crowd for the fireworks show includes not only those in attendance at the Taste, but also many people who set up lawn chairs along nearby York Road and 22nd

Street for a good view. “The fireworks show obviously is very popular and good draw, but Taste of Oak Brook is so much more than that,” Manzo said. “We get to show off what we have in Oak Brook, and I think there’s more we can do there, especially if we go to a multiple-day event.”

Manzo said a mul tiple-day Taste of Oak Brook could lend itself to having the village promote staycations, “where people could stay at one of our great hotels, eat at our wonderful restaurants and shop at our stores.” While that won’t be happening this year, one notable addition to the 2023 Taste is VIP tents. This will allow businesses and others, generally groups of 20 to 25 people, a private space on the Taste grounds at which they will be able to have food catered to their reserved area, Manzo said.

“There’s already been an interest expressed in something like that from businesses here,” he said. “I just think it’s very exciting that we already have this wonderful event every year and also have the interest and excitement from village staff to take it to even a higher level.”

No outside alcoholic beverages will be allowed into Taste of Oak Brook. The onsite beverage tent will feature beer, wine, Sangria, water and soft drinks. On-site Parking will be available for a fee. The cost will be determined before the event takes place. Premium parking, available prior to the Taste, also will be available for online purchase, Details are being worked out.

Handicap parking will be available at the Oak Brook Golf Club, with courtesy carts available to shuttle attendees to and from the field on which Taste of Oak Brook is taking place. No open-grilling, sparklers or pets are permitted. A rain date, for fireworks only, is July 4. ■