After a one-year absence, the Taste of Villa Rica is coming back.

The event is slated for Saturday, Oct. 6, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at The Mill in downtown Villa Rica with a host of local restaurants and private caterers already signed up to participate. Throughout the day, people will have the opportunity to purchase tickets to sample some of the area’s best food, from barbecue to pizza and everything in between.

“The food will be portioned out sample size,” said Rhonda Case, who is helping organize the event. “You’re not going to get a four-course mill.”

The Villa Rica and Golden City Lions clubs are officially in charge of this year’s event with all proceeds benefitting their programs and the Villa Rica Parks and Recreation Department is cosponsoring the event. However, they’ve enlisted the help of Case, who organized the last Taste of Villa Rica in 2010 and had previously help organize a similar “taste” event for two years in Lafayette, Ind., and started the Taste of Douglasville and worked that event for 13 years.

The Taste of Villa Rica was scratched last year due to budgetary concerns and scheduling issues, but it was so popular in 2010 that organizers wanted to bring it back.

“It is coming up and we’re looking for entertainment, we’re looking for all kinds of vendors,” Case said. “We also need more sponsors.”

In addition to vendors for the Taste of Villa Rica’s marketplace — which will include mainly homemade arts and crafts — organizers are looking for more local eateries and sponsors for this year’s event. Thus far, the economy has had a big effect on sponsorships with many who participated two years ago not doing so this year or doing so at a reduced rate than they did in 2010.

“We’ve got a few, but our sponsorships are where we get our working money, our operational money to put this all together,” Case said. “The larger sponsors are not coming in like they had before. We’re getting a lot of the smaller sponsors, which is great, but I think it’s a sign of the economy that the larger sponsors haven’t stepped forward. Most of the sponsorships we have are the $100 or $250 sponsorships, but we really need those $1,000 sponsorships.”

The entry fee for each marketplace vendor is $40 for a 100-square-foot booth. The deadline for vendors is Sept. 1 with a $10 late fee tacked on after that date if space is still available. For returning vendors from 2010, the registration fee is $30.

Potential vendors or sponsors can contact Case at 770-899-3118 or by e-mail at rhondacase0421@yahoo.com.