The Taste of Tacoma is considered both a bane and a boon. The influx of people to the small town of Ruston has been a cause of stress and less-than-friendly feelings between festival-goers and homeowners. Parking spaces become more valuable than gold; lines and the crush of humanity a test of patience. Merely getting to and from the area, be it by side streets or main routes, becomes an extreme navigational challenge.

For more than 26 years this three-day, food-focused festival has offered live music, entertainment, craft booths, exhibits and more. The long stretch of food booths - which I've always thought of as Gluttony Row - is the source of both excitement and financial woe. Though touted as the free, family-friendly festival of the summer, Ruston-area resident Chris Savenetti offers a different take.

"Oh, sure, to walk around, but the food costs a fortune," Saventetti says. "The ‘taste' part of the festival breaks the bank. Try taking a family there."

Add up the Taste of Tacoma possibilities for a family - any combination of sodas, lemonades, fruit smoothies, Philly cheesesteaks, teppanyaki, hot wings, funnel cakes and ice cream for four or five people - and you can see he has a point.

Savenetti is an example of one of two decidedly separate camps where Gluttony Row and the Taste is concerned. There are people discouraged by the cost and how few actual Tacoma-based businesses participate in the Taste, and there are others who are excited for the once-a-year chance to eat treats not readily available locally, possibly in mass quantities, while enjoying the outdoor offerings of Point Defiance Park.

Many cite their favorite things about the Taste of Tacoma to be free music and people watching. For others, quite naturally, it comes down to the food. University Place resident Jennifer Adams-Nagy waits every year for a chance to eat a chicken artichoke crepe from Crepe Tyme, a summer festival vendor with no associated restaurant or shop. But Adams-Nagy also expresses some dismay over rising costs. "I miss that all the booths had $2 tastes. Now the only $2 items are lemonade," she says.

While Adams-Nagy's excitement for something she can't find anywhere else may seem to contradict the name ... what if we changed the way we view the Taste of Tacoma? Instead of focusing on the lack of Tacoma business representation, one might look forward to the opportunity to try things from outside areas.

Just such a glass-half-full attitude allows Burke Langer, who lives near Point Defiance Park, to see the positive; he can walk to the park, there's a beer garden, and as he posts on Facebook "... alligator on a stick plus a bunch of other overpriced food to gorge on."

Taste of Tacoma

Friday, June 24-Saturday, June 25 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Sunday, June 26 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Free admission, free live music and more than 30 tastings for purchase - choose the "just a bite" option at any food vendor for $3.75, or go big with an item from their regular menu.
Point Defiance Park, 5400 N. Pearl St., Tacoma
tasteoftacoma.com