It's food, fireworks and flavor at North Texas' largest event dedicated to all things food June 12-14 in Dallas' Fair Park. Taste of Dallas presented by Ford is set to satisfy the tens of thousands of hungry tasters who love to stroll Dallas's Fair Park and taste from restaurants all over North Texas.Because Texans do love their BBQ, new for this year is a Celebration of BBQ. From brisket to ribs, chicken to pork, taste your way through the best BBQ in DFW from more than a dozen BBQ restaurants and local pitmasters. Samples are available from $1-$4 from restaurants including Eddie Deen's, Riscky's, Hard Eight, Smoke to the Bone and more, making it easy to taste around and find your own personal favorites while finishing every finger-lickin' good bite. (After all, a Texan's BBQ preference says a lot about him or her!)

You won't want to miss the $25,000 BBQ Battle Royale, found only at Taste of Dallas. Eighteen professional BBQ teams from across the southwest will stampede into Taste of Dallas' Celebration of BBQ to duke it out for cash and bragging rights. See who is King of the Ring among pitmasters whose BBQ is nothing short of legendary. The Kansas City Barbeque Society-sanctioned event will take place on Sunday, June 14, with the awards presentation at 5 p.m.

Taste of Dallas, Flickr
Taste of Dallas, Flickr
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Beyond BBQ is a collection of exciting North Texas restaurants and food trucks set to deliver a tasty experience. Restaurants, including Fat Rabbit, Texas de Brazil and Winners BBQ offer up their best fare for only $1-$4. Or park it at Taste Curbside, where you can sample from some of North Texas' best food trucks including: Bellatrino, Misha's Food Truck and Best Bayou Bites. There is no better way than Taste of Dallas to taste cuisine from more than 50 of Dallas’s best restaurants: with no entrée more than $4, participants have the opportunity to savor plenty of different tastes without breaking the bank.

In honor of its long-standing partnership with the American Heart Association, the charity beneficiary of Taste of Dallas, a new Heart Healthy Sunday brought to you by Texas Health Resources, is being held this year. All restaurants will be making heart-healthy fare, and there will be free screenings and CPR training, family-friendly entertainment, jump rope teams and more fun ways to learn about good-for-you food, healthy activities and more that contribute to overall well-being. Help kick off Heart Healthy Sunday by lacing up your sneakers and participating in the HeartStrong 5K & 1 Mile Fun Run in Fair Park to raise money for heart disease research alongside legends of the NFL.

To add even more weekend fun to your plate, peruse the Taste Marketplace to sample and shop for culinary delights, check out new barbeque products and equipment, meet with health and wellness exhibitors, join the DJ party at the Ford Main Stage, let your inner child loose in The Sweet Factory, bounce and play in the kid's zone, and enjoy the area's best food trucks all in one place at Taste Curbside. With plenty for kids and adults alike, this is an event to entertain the whole family.

Taste of Dallas, Flickr
Taste of Dallas, Flickr
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Also new for this year is a VIP tasting experience within Taste of Dallas called Taste the Difference presented by CultureMap, which celebrates and elevates the art of the meal. A separately ticketed event for 21 and up only, this fantastic foodie experience produced by culinarian Scott Jones is a culinary tour for your tastebuds through the best restaurants in North Texas, all within the Centennial Building at Fair Park.

Complete with wine, beer and spirits tastings, chef interactions and mixology madness, this is an event not to miss. Celebrity chefs including Dean Fearing, Brian Zenner, Kirstyn Brewer, Omar Flores, Anthony Van Camp, Jeff Harris, Bob Stephenson, Scott Gottlich, Abraham Salum, Uno Immanivong and Randall Warder will star at the event. Please visit TastetheDifferenceDallas.com for details and tickets. Use #TTDDallas to follow all the action!

The 29th Annual Taste of Dallas is Friday through Sunday, June 12-14, 2015, at Fair Park. Fireworks will take place at 10 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday night. Parking is available for purchase in Fair Park, or attendees can ride the DART Green Line to Fair Park Station, which stops right at the front entrance to the event.

Hours are 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $12 per person at the gate (or $9 per ticket at Walgreen’s DFW)  Children 10 and under are FREE with an accompanying parent.

To receive more information, visit their website or call 972-587-6090 or visit their Facebook page.

(Source:Rachel Hedstrom,The Gentry Agency)

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