BY LARA BECKER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Taste of Blue Ash has much to offer in its 13th year: oldies bands for one generation, balloons for another.
And for everyone, food, glorious food.
The sample-sized portions Saturday afternoon ranged from London broil to potato nests, and from chocolate-dunked cheesecake dribbled with raspberry sauce to snowballs in every color of the rainbow.
Smells and people mingled under a gray-turned-blue sky, and under that, the haze of barbecue-pit smoke.
The early noontime crowd didn't get nearly as thick as the cheesecake, but people showed up as early as 8:30 a.m. to stake out a spot for the nighttime concerts.
"I took off work for it," said Michael Woods, 48, of Cheviot. He expected his favorite band, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, to put on a great show.
"My life will be complete," Mr. Woods said. "I've waited for this moment."
The more immediate priority for other festival-goers was grazing. Booths arranged in a giant "T" sold mini-meals of exotic fare, or hamburgers and hotdogs.
"I don't discriminate," said Dave Overstreet, 34, of Monfort Heights, after he'd scraped off the last of the dessert he shared with his wife.
Friday's downpour ruined more than a few appetites: "It just came down," said Phil Frost, 38, owner of Baxter's Eatery and Saloon in Blue Ash. "But I think we'll make it back today."
Taste of Blue Ash continues noon-9 p.m. today near Hunt and Cooper roads.
