Foodies, assemble!

This weekend local and regional restaurants, food carts, distilleries and more will gather downtown for the annual Bite of Bend. With the sumptuous smells wafting around, it’s hard not to be tempted by the delectable bites offered from 23 vendors. Each one offers small plates for $2 apiece. The smorgasbord varies from sourdough crust pizza, Australian meat pies, Pad Thai, doughnut holes, gelato and more.

This year, the festival has added an entire week dedicated to the art of the cocktail. Local restaurants and bars are shaking up specialty concoctions made with local and regional spirits all for $5. The drinks will then be featured in the Mixology Showcase open Friday and Saturday and at the Bartender’s Brawl at noon on Saturday.

There will be a Family Play Zone complete with bounce houses, arts and crafts, a seed planting station and more. For the runners in the family, the annual Root Beer Run will be held at noon Saturday where children ages 3 to 10 can run between stations at Troy Field, building a root beer float as they go.

The grown-ups have a race, too. The Beer Run, held at noon on Sunday, is a 5K run through Drake Park with beer stations along the way to hydrate the runners before finishing back at the festival where live music and more beer awaits.

But this is about food, right? Eight local chefs will strut their stuff during the Top Chef competition: four elimination rounds on Saturday and two on Sunday. Each chef will be given 45 minutes to create a dish based on a secret ingredient and pair it with an appetizer or dessert. A panel of judges will pick the winners of each round.

So drop in downtown and cheer on the chefs, take in the tastes, bolt for a brew and move to the music at this year’s Bite of Bend.