Over Labor Day weekend, the annual Taste of Madison was held on the Capitol Square. Every inch surrounding the square was occupied by a food booth, drink stand or live music stage.

Restaurants from around Madison featured many different foods including Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream, cheesecakes, Chinese food, Japanese food, gyros, soft pretzels and the perennial favorite cheese curds. Most of the food and some drinks could be purchased for $4 or less.

Everyone enjoyed the nice weather, with many people relaxing on benches and grass that surround the Capitol building.

There’s always live music at the Taste of Madison, but I hadn’t heard of any of the bands performing this year. I caught a glimpse of The Rotation at the 106.7 The Zone stage on Sunday. The rock band seemed to be very interactive with the audience, always talking to them between songs. I thought they were pretty good.

Thirsty Jones was playing at the Q106 stage, also doing mostly country rock. Not very many people were watching them, though, but there was this elderly man just dancing along in the street where people were trying to walk. It was a nice sight to know that he didn’t care how weird he looked. He was having fun.

Although the music could have been better, this was the longest I had spent at Taste of Madison in one day, eating more food that I had ever there.

The gyros were delicious and the cheese curds were amazing, as always. The soft pretzel with cheese was also a favorite, and Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream was heaven.

It was a great weekend for Taste of Madison, and it was nice to see so many people coming together to enjoy the last weekend of the summer.