Nearly 100,000 people gathered on City Hall Plaza over the weekend to hear live music, enjoy the weather and most of all to eat.

The Taste of Boston held its 20th annual food tasting event, featuring more than 30 restaurants and food brands, serving everything from Atkins ice cream to Capital Grille fare. The festival which went from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday attracted more people than ever for this year’s event. Part of the proceeds will go to The Greater Boston Food Bank.

‘We wanted to make it special this year and there was definitely the demand,’ said event promoter Saverio Mancina. Mancina said because it is the event’s 20th year, Mayor Thomas Menino wanted to be more involved one of the reasons it was held at City Hall for the second year in a row.

The size and the planning that went into this year’s event attracted people from areas beyond Boston.

‘It’s what we call a ‘destination event,” Mancina said. Crews had been setting up the area for months in order to accommodate all the food booths, people and musical acts.

‘It’s been an overwhelming success,’ said Patte Papa, an event manager for the mayor. ‘There are more people here this year than there have ever been before.’

The entertainment was also a large draw for many people. Local bands played in the ‘Party at the Taste’ tent and larger acts, such as Jessica Simpson and Sister Sledge, performed on the main stage.

‘They really try to make it something for everybody,’ Papa said, commenting on the musical acts.

Although most of the attendees came as families, many students came to check out the samples as well.

Jill Strominger, a College of Communication junior who made her first visit to the tasting on Sunday, called the number of booths ‘a little overwhelming.’

‘I’m really surprised at how large the selection is,’ she said.

Stands where people bought tickets were set up throughout the area. After buying the tickets, which cost $1 each, people waited in line at the booth of whatever restaurant or brand of food they wanted to try.

‘The samples are small, so if you’re hungry, it ends up costing a lot of money,’ Strominger said. ‘So it’s a little deceiving in that respect.’

Most samples cost between one and three tickets. Any restaurant or food company that wanted to present and give samples of its food could pay to have a stand at the event.

‘It’s a great way to showcase to a wide variety of people,’ said Susan Withrow, an event promoter.

However, the chefs who cooked for an audience had to be invited.

‘A lot of these chefs we invite have their own cooking shows already,’ Withrow said. ‘But they can’t feed the masses in the same way that the stands do.’

The food cooked by the chefs was given out for free, but only to audience members who sat through their shows.

Nicole Coady, executive pastry chef for Finale restaurant in Boston, made one of her desserts and talked to the audience as well.

‘It’s always fun to answer questions,’ she said. ‘[The event] is also benefiting a lot of good stuff.’