Food Trucks, Family Fun In Store For Manhattan's Debut Taste of Fall

MANHATTAN, IL — Manhattan residents will have a special chance to welcome crisp fall weather, with a new event planned by its officials.

The debut Taste of Fall is set for Oct. 14, bringing a variety of food trucks ranging from wood-fired pizza, to BBQ, tacos, Chicago-style hot dogs and Korean street food. Attendees are encouraged to bring their appetites, with dessert offerings also including ice cream, Italian pastries, cake pops, hot cocoa bombs, fresh donuts, coffee and hot cider. The event will offer family fun, with pumpkin decorating on-site, too. Admission is free; all food and drink is available for purchase.

The event was created to give families a chance to enjoy the outdoors before heading into the colder months.

"When I ran for office, one of my biggest goals was we wanted to enhance the events that we already had, and bring more events to town, because we have so many young families," said Manhattan Mayor Mike Adrieansen.

Held at 195 S. State St., the event kicks off at 2 p.m. and lasts until 8 p.m. Bothwell Farms will donate 100 pumpkins, with decorating set for 2 to 4:30 p.m. The Manhattan Park District will lead the pumpkin decorating. Mums, apples, and gourds will also be available for purchase. Pumpkins will be decorated near the Caboose, and the Manhattan Historical Society will be open from 2 to 5 p.m.

Fire pits will be started by the Manhattan Fire Protection District, offering spots for folks to cozy up to. Live music will be provided by Mid Life Crisis, from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m.

Food and drink vendors include:

• Arrowhead Ales – Food & Alcohol
• Calogeros Old World Italian
• Coffee N Repeat
• Cream N Crunch
• Drew’s Dogs
• Keke’s Donuts
• Los Razo’s Mexican Grill
• Sweet Swirls
• Truckin' Delicious
• Fritz’s (beer)
• Dock at Inwood (margaritas)

Adrieansen said he's grateful to Trustee Justin Young and Kristen Reinke for helping to get the event off the ground. He hopes to continue expanding the town's event offerings, and dabbling in different concepts to appeal to the largely family-based community.

"We try different things, see how the community reacts to it," Adrieansen said, "and see if they like it."