Boone County's biggest food showcase of the summer returns Aug. 29, when more than 25 local restaurants, bakeries, and caterers pack into the air-conditioned Witham Pavilion at the Boone County Fairgrounds in Lebanon for the third annual Boone County Bites. Tickets run from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., cost $25 plus service fees, and include unlimited food tastings and nonalcoholic beverages, with adult beverages available for an additional cost to attendees 21 and older.
This year's event comes with a hard cap: organizers are limiting ticket sales to 400 attendees, according to WISH-TV. Boone County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Sean Reaves confirmed the 400-person limit and the pavilion's indoor, climate-controlled setup during an August 17 radio interview on WILO 102.7 FM's Party Line, according to Clinton County Daily News. In that same interview, Reaves reported the chamber is on pace for record membership growth this year.
The festival has become a signature Chamber event, and Reaves has said Boone County has some of the best eats in central Indiana, per the station's report. Attendees this year will get a voting ticket to cast ballots for the festival's best sweet and savory bites, and organizers have again lined up live music and cooking demonstrations alongside the tastings.
New Vendors Join a Growing Lineup
The vendor list keeps expanding as the event approaches. Zionsville-based Rise'n Roll Bakery, known for its Amish-style donuts and baked goods, joined the 2026 lineup on August 14, according to an announcement from the Boone County Chamber of Commerce. Just days later, on August 17, organizers added Jamestown's Cochran's Catering & Cakes, a long-established family-owned catering business in western Boone County, bringing homemade catering specialties and desserts to the showcase — a sign of countywide participation stretching well beyond Lebanon proper.
Other confirmed vendors include Aspen Grill, Clues Brews, Beckard's Barbecue, and Jawbone Barbecue, among the more than 25 food and beverage businesses set to highlight local restaurants and caterers, per WISH-TV. Boone County Bites is designed to bring local businesses and the community together while encouraging support for the county's growing culinary scene.
The Reigning Sweet Champ Returns With Hawaiian Flair
Boone County Cake Company, the Lebanon bakery on the historic courthouse square at 222 E. Main St., is back to defend its two-year winning streak in the festival's sweet category. Owners Jon and Stephanie Kim's shop won with a lemon blueberry cake in 2024 — a dessert Reaves has said is still talked about — and followed up with a cookie butter cupcake in 2025, per WISH-TV.
This year the bakery will serve bourbon caramel macarons filled with bourbon caramel Swiss meringue buttercream, along with tropical milk punch and signature bourbon cocktails. Jon Kim, who was born in Hawaii, said he wanted to bring Hawaiian flair to the event, and WISH-TV reports his Hawaiian roots and background in the spirits industry inspired the tropical milk punch and bourbon cocktails. Stephanie Kim said the macarons are made from scratch at the bakery, according to the same report.
A Festival Tracking a Booming County
The festival's growth tracks a broader boom across Boone County. U.S. Census Bureau estimates released in March 2026 showed the county's population reached 80,689 in 2025 after a 2.6 percent annual gain, making it Indiana's fastest-growing county by percentage rate, according to Indiana University. Net domestic migration accounted for 1,837 of the roughly 2,000 residents the county added between 2024 and 2025.
Much of that growth traces to the state-backed LEAP Research and Innovation District in Lebanon, which spans more than 9,000 acres and is anchored by an Eli Lilly manufacturing site along with a proposed 1,000-acre mixed-use village, as reported by the Indianapolis Business Journal. That influx of residents and corporate investment has expanded the customer base for small culinary businesses across Lebanon, Zionsville, Jamestown, and Whitestown — the kind of countywide growth Reaves said Boone County continues to experience.
Where the Festival Started, and How to Get Tickets
Boone County Bites has moved around since its 2024 debut at The Cardinal Room at the Golf Club of Indiana in Whitestown, before relocating to the Fairgrounds in Lebanon for its second and third years. The festival now serves as the late-summer capstone of Bite into Boone, a June-through-August tourism campaign from Discover Boone County that promotes local dining, food trails, and farmers markets with monthly themes like patio dining and barbecue.
Tickets are available through Eventbrite, and Boone County Chamber has partnered with Zionsville Community Schools to offer a 50 percent discount code for district teachers and staff for the first 50 redemptions. General attendees can use discount code lifestylelive for 25 percent off the ticket price, per WISH-TV.
