Event planners interested in planning neighborhood food festivals must consider several elements, including operations, vendors, programming, marketing and more. Learn how event planners approached the Taste of Chicago 2007.

This slide show of the Taste provides background information and visual samples of items to consider when planning a festival: setup, crowd control, public safety, health and more.

If you are planning an outdoor festival for the first time or wanting to expand an existing festival, the event planners behind the Taste of Chicago 2007 offer some quick tips for general planning, operations management, sponsorships, talent management and marketing/public relations.

Event organizers should create corporate sponsorship categories to generate revenue and expand programming options. Organizers of the Taste of Chicago share their approach to securing corporate support.

U.S. Cellular and Eli's Cheesecake explain how awareness and driving revenue are keys to sponsorship decisions for community festivals.