Taste of Minnesota has made it official: It will return to downtown Minneapolis in 2024 after moving around and even disappearing for a few years.

The big food and music festival, which traditionally revolved around Independence Day, is set for July 6 and 7 on Nicollet Mall.

Some 100,000 attended last year's free two-day event, which took place on a three-block stretch of Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis and was judged a hit by attendees and supporters alike.

Taste of Minnesota had been dormant for seven years. First staged in 1983 on the grounds of the State Capitol in St. Paul, the event ultimately became the state's second-largest festival, behind only the State Fair. It moved to St. Paul's Harriet Island in 2003. Taste eventually declared bankruptcy. It emerged briefly in Waconia, in Carver County, in 2014 and 2015.

The Legislature allocated a $1.8 million state tourism grant to help stage the event and some of that money could apply to this year's event too.

No major crimes were reported during last year's Taste — an important marker for Minneapolis boosters hoping to curb the perception that downtown remains troubled since the pandemic and wanting to reinvent the city's core as a destination for fun.

Last year's festival offered concerts, goods ranging from art to marijuana pipes, and eats from caterers, restaurants and food trucks.

Staff writers Dave Orrick and Susan Du contributed to this article.