NORTH BEND – Forget the Wednesday night tuna casserole. Dinnertime will offer a little more variety than most are used to at the Sept. 28 “Bite of the Valley.”

The annual event showcasing the finest food in Fall City, North Bend and Snoqualmie will be held at the Si View Community Center from 5:30 to 8 p.m. this year.

The Si View Parks Board and the Snoqualmie Valley Chamber of Commerce are co-sponsoring the event, which will feature more than 15 local restaurants and food vendors. “Some people have heard of the ‘Bite of Seattle.’ It’s similar to that but on a much smaller scale,” said Jennifer Lynham, who is on the Bite of the Valley committee for the chamber.

Guests are invited to sample food from the menus of this year’s participants, including: Frankie’s Pizza, Gordy’s Steak & BBQ Smokehouse, Costco, The Pho Place, Snoqualmie Falls Candy Factory, Jay Berry’s, Mount Si Golf Course Restaurant, The Reef, Rhodies BBQ, Safeway, Sahara’s Pizza, The Salish Lodge & Spa, Subway, The Veronica Wine Bar and possibly Twede’s, Denny’s, Scott’s Dairy Freeze and The Milk Barn.

The long-running event began as a member drive for the chamber and is now open to the public. And beginning this year, kids can partake of the fun, too. A separate area for serving wine will be roped off for adults.

“A lot of people in the past have said they wanted to come, but couldn’t because they couldn’t bring their kids, but now kids can come,” Lynham said.

This year, raffle tickets for a trip for two to Las Vegas will be sold at the Bite for $1. But not even a free trip to Vegas will be able to distract attendees from the delicious aromas soon to waft through the Si View gymnasium. The Bite of the Valley usually draws between 200-300 people.

“It’s about discovering new restaurants in the Valley and revisiting old favorites,” Lynham said. “We have so many great restaurants in the Valley that people tend to forget about them when making dinner plans. We wanted to give restaurants a chance to showcase their food and beverages and chef’s talent. That’s why we’re inviting the whole Valley, not just the chamber, so people can learn what’s in their backyards.”

Tickets are available at the door for $12 for adults, and $5 for kids.