Point Defiance Park will become the South Sound’s largest food court this weekend at the 26th annual Emerald Queen Taste of Tacoma.

About 30 pop-up portable restaurants will serve everything from tacos to gyros, salmon to shortcake, alligator to piroshky. If your food tastes skew broad and you have an appreciation for festival food, this event will appeal to your eager gullet.

The festival’s not known for healthful eating, but organizers are making an effort this year to offer heart-healthy options. Cheap bites will be offered again, but they’ll be priced at $3.75, an increase from last year’s $3 bargain bites.

The event is free, save for the price of food and drinks.

Care for a slice of entertainment with your lumpia and jambalaya? There’s music, wine tasting and kid activities. Here are schedules to help you get your groove on:

Classic rock on the Bowl Stage
R&B, gospel, folk and world music on the Pond Stage
Smooth tunes on the Jazz Stage
Country and blues on the Roadhouse Stage

Taste of Tacoma

When: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. today and Saturday, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday

Where: Point Defiance Park, Tacoma

Admission: Free

Parking: $10 in the Funland lot across from the park

Taste Shuttle: The Taste of Tacoma will offer express service every 15 minutes between the Tacoma Community College Transit Center and Point Defiance Park. Fare is $4 roundtrip, although kids younger than 13 ride for free. The shuttle leaves from the northwest corner of the campus at South 12th and South Mildred streets. (Note: Pierce Transit is not offering the shuttle service as I earlier reported, Taste of Tacoma has contracted with a vendor for that service)

Information: www.tasteoftacoma.com or 425-283-5050

Pets: None allowed in the food court. Festival organizers ask that pets stay at home.

No smoking allowed: Tacoma parks are smoke free. Smoking prohibited within all areas of Tacoma public parks.