This weekend the Seattle Center will play host to the 27th annual Bite of Seattle, a festival celebrating all things edible. What began as a 25 restaurant culinary event in 1982 has evolved into a three-day food paradise, attracting more than 450,000 hungry patrons and 60 restaurants every year.

Beginning this Friday at 11:00 and running through Sunday, the Bite will feature more than 100 booths offering every variety of cuisine you could imagine. There will be ethnic food galore (I got my first taste of Kenyan food last year) as well as booths battering and frying everything from asparagus to Twinkies.

Of course this is diet-conscious Seattle, so if you're watching your waistline don't be intimidated by the deep-fryers as there is always a wide assortment of organic, vegetarian, and vegan items available. In fact, every participating restaurant will be serving up at least one lower calorie option as part of the festival's Right Bite program.

Once you've taken a sampling of the various cuisines, you can quench your thirst at one of the four beer gardens on site or even swing into the Vines of Seattle Wine Tasting in KeyArena.

Though food and beverage is paramount to the Bite, there will be a wide variety of entertainment on hand to keep you amused while you digest. With six music stages, the Bite will have concerts throughout the festival with everything from the swing to funk on display. Beyond the tunes, there will be a comedy club, cooking demonstrations and available fine dining options.

Though a fair amount of money could be spent at the various booths, restaurants and beer gardens, the event itself is free and includes enough free samples to induce a food coma.