This year’s Taste of Veishea might remind some people of the Iowa State Fair.

A Taste of Veishea is coming to Welch Avenue this weekend and, as always, will be filled with finger-licking goodies and some special “Iowa” items.

The street will be blocked off from traffic and many food stands will move in, along with a mini-carnival. Also, a stage will be set up for performances scheduled throughout the weekend.

“There will be a lot of award-winning food,” in the concession stands that will fill Campustown, said Jason Drake, vendor co-chair.

Drake said some new foods will be offered this year, including shrimp on a stick and the blooming onion, in addition to pork tenderloins, curly fries and chips, cotton candy and funnel cakes.

Drake also said there will be a “Taste of Iowa” booth serving hamburgers and ears of corn.

There will be many local restaurants represented on Welch Avenue, including Home Team, Godfather’s and Happy Joe’s.

“We have a lot of variety on the performances for the Taste of Veishea,” said Daniel Faidley, entertainment co-chair, “We hope that we will have a good attendance like in the past.”

He said more than 100,000 people were estimated to have attended throughout the entire weekend last year. “A Taste of Veishea” will begin at 5:30 p.m. today with performances by Payton Power Tumbling, a gymnastics group that will do a routine to music, the ISU Pom and Drumline, the Howard Gorman Group, a local rock band, and Shovelhead, an alternative band from Omaha. On Saturday, food stands will open at 10 a.m., with the “Pepsi Stuff Extravaganza” running from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., the “Kiss a Pig” event, featuring many local celebrities to raise money for the American Diabetes Association, karaoke, performances by the ISU Jazz Band, the Round Guy, a local comedian and Flying Taxi, a local classic rock band. KCCQ will broadcast live from 10:30 p.m. to 3 a.m. both evenings. Sunday the food stands open again at 10 a.m., with the Carol Renae Dance Studio and the Centre of Dance performing. Also, throughout the day there will be face painters and Mona Lisa caricatures in the Pizza Pit parking lot.