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Although the 60,000 to 70,000 people who attended Rockville's Hometown Holidays during Memorial Day weekend did not set a record, the event helped generate new highs for a different celebration.

The Taste of Rockville, which featured specialty dishes from 15 restaurants, earned about $75,000 — the most since the event began about 10?years ago.

Roughly 50 percent of the revenue from Taste of Rockville goes to the restaurants; the rest goes to the Rockville Chamber of Commerce and Community Ministries of Rockville.

On Sunday evening, people packed Maryland Avenue, sampling offerings from area restaurants like Spice Xing and Potomac Pizza.

Chamber Executive Director Andrea Jolly said her organization and the restaurants were pleased.

"[The restaurants] all felt they did lots of business and got their name out there," Jolly said. "I'm very pleasantly surprised. We had good weather, good restaurants and despite the change, we still had good entertainment."

The change Jolly was referring to was a last-minute entertainment switch from concert headliner George Clinton to Taj Mahal. Clinton, 69, was hospitalized because of a staph infection in his leg, according to media reports. The city made the change Friday.

The 23rd annual Hometown Holidays cost the city roughly $145,000 to host. Rockville spokeswoman Marylou Berg said the city was fortunate to get a quality replacement for Clinton on short notice.

"Every year we learn from the year before and it just gets better," she said. "We feel incredibly lucky to get such a great act at what was absolutely the 11th hour. That's the only time that's ever happened in all 23 years of Hometown Holidays."

Earlier on Sunday, Stephan Sieg of Derwood and Colleen Clark of Gaithersburg made their way through the streets of the festival, dressed as a cupcake and a cookie.

People stared in amazement at Sieg, encircled waist to brow in foam and felt, with his arms tucked into the giant costume.

He was out to support Jackie Price, a junior at Col. Zadok Magruder High School, who sold baked goods beside her costumed friends.

For the fourth year in a row, Price, 16, of Derwood, set up the "Great Rockville Bake Sale" at a charity booth to raise money for Share Our Strength, a national organization that tries to help end child hunger.

She and her mother, Suzanne Price, baked for about two weeks to prepare for the event. They made about 2,000 cookies, 600 cupcakes, 400 brownies and more.

Jackie raised $1,200 on Saturday and expected to make about the same Sunday; in the last four years, she has raised more than $10,000 for the charity.

"It's amazing how far she goes for charity," Colleen said, "She's always working so hard."

snorris@gazette.net