A lack of hometown knowledge leads to perpetual disorientation, awkward run-ins with high school mascots, and accidental swims in the world's largest soup tureen. Know your stomping grounds with today's Groupon: for $8, you get two tickets to the Taste of Dallas (a $16 value). The festival runs Friday, July 8 through Sunday, July 10 at Fair Park.

The Taste of Dallas's host of local chefs, musicians, and artists fill Fair Park in gleeful commemoration of the event's 25th anniversary. Caper through an epicurean oasis of tastings and demonstrations (restaurant tastings cost $1–$3 and are not included with this Groupon) curated by the gastronomic masterminds behind such eateries as Twisted Root Burger Company and Dick's Last Resort. The auditory kaleidoscope of the Gilley's Music Stage lineup, which includes the blissed-out folk of Menkena and the classic rock strut of the Ray Johnston Band, pirouettes through ears like ballerinas wearing tutus fashioned from wind chimes.

Romping across 150,000 square feet of interior exhibition space and a sunny outdoor esplanade, the sprawling fête delights diminutive guests of Kid's Taste Town with balloon artists, jugglers, and sing-a-long 401K seminars. Armchair aesthetes can cast discerning eyes across the Artist Enclave, which brims with stunning frame-fodder; a multihued cornucopia of preserves and regional delicacies eagerly await loving belly-homes in the Culinary Marketplace.

Children under 12 receive free admission, and parking is available on the fairgrounds for $12.