For event planners, there are only two good problems to have. One: it’s way too crowded. Two: The air conditioning wasn’t up to par. At last Saturday’s Taste and Tour event sponsored by the Northeast Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, that was exactly the case.

Fortunately, the air conditioning snafu was the product of a thrown breaker, a quick fix. The overcrowding? Chalk that up to the Chamber throwing one helluva good party! Organizers estimated a head count of roughly 225 people. This news-dog thinks it was more in the 400 to 500 range. The event, in only its second year, has already outgrown its original digs at the Sons of Columbus Hall on Independence Avenue. For those of you keeping score at home, this is a good thing.

The music was fantastic, the food was top shelf and the crowd was as festive as any this carnivorous canine has seen in a long time. We’d like to throw some king-sized kudos out to Bobbi Baker-Hughes and Rebecca Koop and a score of dedicated volunteers for pulling the whole thing off. If you weren’t there, you missed some of the best grub and some swinging' tunes (complete with a swing dance troupe) this side of the Rocky Mountains. As for next year, we’re hoping the hunt for a larger space starts now.