Area residents fill Lafayette during annual celebration

By Jenny Jones
Summer Reporter

The sky was clear, the sun was shining brightly and the air was engulfed with the aroma of food for Saturday's Taste of Tippecanoe festival.

Crowds of people lined the streets in an effort to sample the variety of food offered by the 30 local restaurants represented, such as Mountain Jack's, Bistro 501, La Scala, Snow Bear, the Maize, El Burrito Loco, Applebee's and C Ray's.

"We were busy the whole time, up until midnight," said Lauren Lester, hostess for Mountain Jack's.

In addition to sampling entrees, many of the taste’s visitors enjoyed the sounds of live bands from genres such as country, rock 'n' roll, jazz and the blues.

Chris Turpin, a Lafayette resident, said she and her husband took pleasure in seeing the wide array of people come together in downtown Lafayette.

As the evening progressed, and the sun began to disappear behind the clouds, more people emerged into the streets. The festival transformed into one giant party; people danced, drank and took advantage of the weather.

At 10 p.m. the lights were turned off, and the crowd prepared for the greatly anticipated fireworks show, which was held over the Wabash River.

Through the night sky, extravagant colors lit up the darkness. The flashing lights captured the attention of the audience for approximately 1/2 hour. The show ended with a finale of numerous mortars, cannon ball like fireworks and cheers from the crowd.

After the fireworks show, the celebration became more laid back. People danced to music at almost all of the six stages, and the restaurant venues continued to sell vast amounts of food.

As the celebration ended and the crowd thinned, the streets of downtown silenced as another year of the Taste of Tippecanoe concluded into the summer night.

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