The Taste of India festival is back for its seventh edition at Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto this weekend. The theme of this year's event is Festivals of India.

Around 900 artists will take the stage over the course of two days to showcase dance and music performances. There will be 165 stalls selling various types of food and drinks as well as a smaller selection of vendors selling Indian handicrafts, jewellery and clothing.

The opening ceremony on August 3 will see the CN Tower and the Toronto Sign will be illuminated in the colours of the national flag of India.

Ranked as the largest food festival in North America by the World Book of Records, the two-day festival is expected to attract half a million people.

The event's founder Rinku Shah, who came to Canada in 2008 told blogTO she came up with the idea for the festival during a meeting at work.

"We were ordering lunch and someone commented that Indian food is all about butter chicken and samosa. I didn't like it," Shah said.

She wanted to break this stereotype and present her country's cuisine in all its epicurean glory. The food vendors at the event will offer a large range of  regional dishes spanning South India, coastal regions and East India.

Immersive 4-D installations of India’s historical monuments like the Taj Mahal, Gateway of India, Golden Temple and Statue of Unity will make the venue come to life. 

You can also expect to see some star power from India. In previous years, the festival has attracted chefs Vikas Khanna and Sanjeev Kapoor.

This year, Bollywood actor Preity Zinta will make an appearance. In addition to her acting chops, Zinta co-owns a cricket team in the T20 format Indian Premiere League.

Shah says a percentage of proceeds generated from the event will go towards supporting two schools in villages in India.

"The best gift is the gift of education," Shah said.

Toronto's seventh annual Taste of India festival will take place on Aug. 3 and 4 from 1 p.m. to 11 p.m.