Taste of Rain at Madison Park

The weather at Sunday's Taste of Lakewood was not a big surprise, rain had been in the forecast for several days prior to the event.

While the rain did have an impact on overall attendance, it did not affect the good times and good food.

"Very good crowd of around 5,000+ despite the forecast. Most vendors (food and merchant market) stayed through the storms and enjoyed the last hour of sunshine and blue skies," said Valerie Mechenbier of the Lakewood Chamber of Commerce.

This year, people were able to enjoy their favorite beverage as they walked around the event enjoying the live music and visiting the 36 food vendors and 30 market merchants instead of being confined to a beer tent.

Live music was a big part of the event. In spite of a slight hiccup with the sound system caused by rain, the headlining band, Lost State of Franklin was able to close the event with an excellent set.

Social media engagement was especially strong during the event. Check out the Taste of Lakewood Instagram for more photos.

Mechenbier had nothing but praise for the volunteers that helped out with the event, she said that the Taste of Lakewood requires a staff of 150 volunteers.

The Lakewood Chamber has already started planning for next year's TOL, creating lists of things to address or add for next year.

"Every year we tackle something that happened the year before, then something new comes up!" said Mechenbier.