Pizza City Fest hits the Chi like a big pizza pie

Pizza is an Italian dish that combines dough, tomato, and cheese, sometimes with additional toppings. Different regions have competed over the years to be recognized as having the best pizza. Chicago is widely known for deep-dish pizza with a thick crust and layers of ingredients. New York is another cheesy contender and is known for its thin crust, sometimes eaten after being folded and sold on the go.

No matter what a diner's preferences are, there's a much bigger landscape of pizza to explore than one might expect.

Pizza City Fest Chicago is a smart place to start on this culinary journey, all in one location. From August 22-24 at River North, 430 N. Rush St., ticket holders can try pies from 14 different pizza makers. The organizers of the event have teamed up with Doughnate Pizza to receive at least $5,000 in donations to assist in delivering meals to those in need.

A similar event, known as The Chicago Pizza Summit, is not connected to PCF. Pizza City Fest cooks their pizzas to order in industrial-sized Marra Forni ovens. For the third year, a wide variety of styles will be represented, featured in both round and rectangular shapes.

Cool off with a scoop of gelato as dessert to complete the experience.

Panel discussions and demonstrations are part of the Sunday funday pizza programming. For those who love live music, prepare to groove to tunes from bands like Sixteen Candles and Trippin' Billies on the weekend.

Pizza City Fest promises to be a cheesy good time over the course of three days. Slice into pizzacityfest.com for tickets and information about this upcoming mouth-watering event.