Accompanying the vast array of good eats and great music at Taste of Minnesota will be police officers and security guards in place to keep people as safe as possible.

The festival, that’s been on hiatus since 2015, is taking place on Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis, for the first time. Set for Sunday and Monday of the holiday weekend, gates open at noon and the event ends at 8 p.m. on both days.

The timing is an adjustment from years past and is just one step organizers have taken to ensure safety. This is now the second weekend in a row Minneapolis will have thousands of more people than normal following Twin Cities Pride and back-to-back Taylor Swift concerts.

“We’ve really coordinated a comprehensive security plan in junction with the Minneapolis Police Department,” Scott Gerlicher, head of security for Taste of Minnesota, said, adding: “Things are going great as far as the planning goes.”

Gerlicher also said there will be private security and that they’ll be relying on the many cameras along Nicollet Mall. People can expect to enter the event as if they were heading into a Twins or Vikings game.

“They’ll enter through metal detectors [and] we’ll search any bags they have just to make sure everyone is safe and secure coming into the event,” Gerlicher said.

Along with the many food vendors that will be there, the entertainment includes everything from a magician, to wrestling, to big musical artists like Third Eye Blind, Uncle Kracker, and Big Boi from OutKast.

One of the food options will be The Anchor Fish & Chips, from northeast Minneapolis.

“We’re always stocked to the gills to feed as many hungry people as possible,” Luke Kyle, chief and co-owner of The Anchor Fish & Chips, said with the pun intended.

He and his team are looking forward to the event as it’s their first time being part of it and are encouraged about the impact it will have on their neighbors across the river.

“[We’re] hoping to get some more positive vibrancy also in downtown Minneapolis because it’s been a rough few years,” Kyle said, adding: “We’re excited to be part of hopefully bringing the good stuff back to downtown.”

While Taste of Minnesota is free, attendees do have to register beforehand — you can do that here.