Silvio Vena and son Simone, visiting from Calabria, Italy, sampled the wares Saturday at Taste of Wisconsin on the city’s lakefront and found the state pleasing to their palates.

Accompanied by their cousin, Angelo Tenuta, of Kenosha, they declared the event “buono” — good — and said they wished they weren’t returning Monday to their village of Mendocino outside Coszena. For one thing, the cool breeze off the lake was a reminder how sweltering the heat is this time of year in southern Italy. Speaking through Tenuta, they said they found people at Taste and elsewhere in the U.S. very friendly and welcoming.

Jeanne Corbett, who is training to compete Oct. 10 in Miss Fitness Wisconsin — where she finished second a year ago — found the savory scents and everything else at the event impossible to avoid, forcing her off her self-imposed diet of “one cheese day a week.”

“And this is the way I’m celebrating my cheese day,” said Corbett, owner of Kenosha Personal Training and part-time orthodontic assistant for Dr. John Crawford.

Sitting under the canopy and enjoying the music performed by Crawford’s band, she admitted to drinking a glass of red wine at the Taste, also kettle corn, ice cream and a basket of cheese nachos. “She didn’t come out here planning to break her diet, either,” said boyfriend Jason Bowman, of Pleasant Prairie, who packed away his share of nachos and who knows what else at the festival, a two-day fundraiser for Kiwanis Club of Western Kenosha.

Said Corbett, “A little glass of red wine, then all the smells of the good food, the music and the atmosphere — I couldn’t resist.”

The event — new in Kenosha — continues today in HarborPark.

Jeff Hanson and Jim Pascucci of the Kiwanis said the first-time event’s numerous vendors, many local, who offered a variety of food, beer, wine and other items, drew far more people than expected.

“Great crowd, a lot of families,” Pascucci said. “We put this together as a fundraiser for the community. All this money goes back.”

Just down from another stage where the band Donoma had an audience standing six deep, Justin Her, 12, and cousin Kazoua Song, 16, were putting on a show of their own, full of spirited personality as they served visitors at the counter of Kay’s Eggrolls in a booth adjacent to their uncle Steven Xiong’s Bao’s Bubble Tea, another popular stop for Taste of Wisconsin attendees.

Justin and Kazoua may be familiar to HarborMarket patrons as the personable helpers at their families’ booths, and they said Saturday they were having great fun at the festival. “It’s always the best time because we’re with our family,” Kazoua said.

Like other vendors present, her father, Cha Song, said the festival was good exposure for the businesses. “I was saying last year after HarborMarket closed, they should have more events like this here. It brings more business. I guess somebody heard me.”

Said Robin Shields of Robin’s Nest Cakery: “I honestly don’t think I could have made enough brownies today. A lot of people were asking about the classes I teach. This is marketing for me to get other jobs.”