Labor Day means Jerry Lewis' annual muscular dystrophy telethon. Perhaps unknown to most Madisonians, it also means fighting cerebral palsy -- by eating -- by eating a lot.

"I'm not sure how many people know that Taste of Madison is a benefit, but United Cerebral Palsy has been our charity of record since the event began 26 years ago," says Scott Smith, one of the organizers. In the last decade, the festival has given more than $250,000 to fight the disease.

Taste of Madison will be held around the Capitol Square on Saturday and Sunday. The annual food and music event is the flagship weekend of non-profit Madison Festivals Inc. It showcases more than 65 restaurants..

Participating vendors will sell a vast variety of both unique and traditional dishes to an estimated 150,000 diners over two days. Every food item is priced from $1 to $4, and there are hours of live entertainment on four stages.

United Cerebral Palsy is the heart of it all. "They recruit all of the event's beverage servers, which is about 750 annually," says Smith. "They train them and they make sure there are licensed bartenders at the beer and wine stands. For this we pay them a flat fee, and then all the tip money the servers earn goes directly to United Cerebral Palsy services."

He adds, "Please tip your servers!"

Planners hope for record numbers.

"More people are expected to stick close to home this Labor Day weekend, so these factors could make for a very busy Taste of Madison," says Keith Peterson, event manager.

Besides diners, the festival annually invites more than 600 area restaurants and caterers to participate. "Taste of Madison is a lot of work, but it's also a lot of fun to organize," says Smith. "Seeing everything fit together is just short of astounding."

For the past several years, organizers have received responses from only about 10 percent of restaurants invited. From the patrons' side, Smith says that a common complaint is that they would like to see only truly-local food vendors. Unfortunately, he says, a lot of area restaurants that would like to take part simply don't have enough staff.

"The restaurants that participate in the event deserve a lot of credit," he says. "It's tough. Staffing a Taste of Madison booth while keeping their physical locations up and running is no easy task, but they make it work."

If franchises run contrary to current tastes, he adds, "People must remember that these chains are making an effort to reach out to the community and be a part of it."

While the "eat local" craze grows, the number of participating chains has actually decreased in recent years. Last year 70 percent of all Taste of Madison participants were local. That percentage is even higher if you count Wisconsin chains such as Rocky Rococo's, Michael's Frozen Custard and Culver's.

This summer there are many new participating restaurants, including Casbah Restaurant and Lounge, Gotham Bagels, Moo Cow Kettle Corn, NU Line Home Made Ice Cream, Outback Steakhouse, Potbelly Sandwich Works, Restaurant Muramoto, Santa Fe Trailer, Steak Escape and Taj Indian Restaurant.

"We're so happy to have these great vendors involved this year, plus we're excited to have returning favorites like Joeys' Seafood, Lombardino's, Bluephies, The Old Fashioned and Sweet Sophie's, just to name a few," says Smith.

Oh, and some visitors don't attend for the food at all. "About 50 percent of the people that attend Taste think the event is about food," says Smith. "The other 50 percent think it's a music festival. Either way, it's never boring. There is enough variety on both fronts to keep people happy."

Of the emerging artists performing, Smith says, there are several that should draw attention. "This is the first time we've ever had an American Idol' finalist," he says of Phil Stacey, scheduled to perform at 5 p.m. Sunday evening.

Another hot band destined for stardom, he says, is Second Thought, slated to play at 2:30 p.m. Sunday. The group recently won a spot on Cartoon Network's "Props," where they got to record a single with Avril Lavigne's guitarist and writing collaborator.

But forget the food, forget the music. Smith recalls running into a patron a few years ago: "He told me that one of his children has cerebral palsy and he and his family had intimate knowledge about the outstanding services that United Cerebral Palsy provides to area families and individuals affected by cerebral palsy, autism, Down's syndrome and brain trauma.

"He thanked us for having Taste of Madison and said he would be back every year. That alone made all the hard work and planning completely worth it."

IF YOU GO

What: Taste of Madison

When: 2-8 p.m. Saturday and noon-7 p.m. Sunday on the Capitol Square.

Info: www.tasteofmadison.com