A la Carte at the Zoo is encouraging visitors to text votes for their favorite food vendors at the event, which runs Aug. 18-21, at the Milwaukee County Zoo.

Each of the festival's 28 food vendors will post a phone number and code at its kiosk. Patrons can then text the code to the number to vote for its favorite foods.

Voters will be entered to win prizes, including free zoo tickets, and real-time voting results will appear on screens at the U.S. Bank Gathering Place that is the zoo's main entrance.

The program is sponsored by U.S. Cellular, which will also host a "Rewards Suite" with battery charging stations and new devices to check out.

A la Carte at the Zoo is open from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, and 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday.