Food Festivals USA- A definitive list

[cocoagirl]

I would love to visit certain areas of the country when they are having their big food festivals, events. I am thinking of high quality events like the Sante Fe Chili Festival, Taste of Chicago (at least it was so 10 years ago) etc. I am not looking for something like the Washington DC Barbeque Battle which is more about advertising then anything else. Food, music, quality. Where can I find a listing of these events- since for many of the top notch ones they require advance planning. If this thread has been addressed- please point me in the right direction. TIA!

[highchef]

here

I would love to visit certain areas of the country when they are having their big food festivals, events.  I am thinking of high quality events like the Sante Fe Chili Festival, Taste of Chicago (at least it was so 10 years ago) etc.  I am not looking for something like the Washington DC Barbeque Battle which is more about advertising then anything else.  Food, music, quality.  Where can I find a listing of these events- since for many of the top notch ones they require advance planning.   If this thread has been addressed- please point me in the right direction.  TIA!

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Boy. That's a heck of a list. Just here, in Louisiana to start you have the Jazz Fest which is a must see as well as Mardi Gras in any major southern Louisiana city. Food and music are the reasons to live here, that said I also avoid the tourist traps that are put on to 'sell' the place and take your money. Like Contraband Days.

There are smaller venues, that were pretty cool pre hurricanes like the fur and wildlife festival and the rabbit/alligater/frog festivals that are little local things with good music and a bit of french, cajun culture (rabbit skinning contest anyone?). Hammond has a strawberry festival, Ruston has a peach.for me that's just saying it's time to go get the fruit. I don't hang around and watch them crown the queen. There's a tamale festival in Zwolle that's always had me curious, but not encough to drive up there. If you go to La tourist office here and click on event search they'll give dates by month of various things.

But if I were to pick just one thing to fly to La. for as a destination event it would definately be Jazz fest. You've got to do this once in your life. The Essence festival just ended (in Houston this year) which has some pretty cool headliners, but I don't know about the food. When it's in New Orleans good food is a given, other wise, unless it's a food festival (where at least you'll have a cook off of the local product) you're looking at turkey legs.

btw, there was a renassance (sp) festival in Louisiana at one time, if you see it on the calender ignore it. stick with Texas.

edit: check the Louisiana forum, there's a thread or 2 on Jazz fest and somewhere Brooks aka Mayhaw Man has pictures...I just can't find them right now, sorry

Edited July 14, 2006 by highchef (log)

[Jaymes]

Food, music, quality.

Like this?

[jsolomon]

I don't know of the date, but the largest testicle festival in the world is at South Bend Nebraska in June each year.

Testicle Festival date from this year

[highchef]

Food, music, quality.

Like this?

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See! THAT'S why you shouldn't stick around for the crowning of the queen.

I have seen something on ftv about a spam festival, but I thought it was in Seattle. They mentioned Tom Robbins cooking up a can every year on his birthday. Does this mean there are 2??? Or, maybe...even more???

and Shiner Bock is a natural pairing. That I didn't know.

[Gifted Gourmet]

Well, there is this list of Southern Food Festivals from dixiedining.com which includes some interesting events ... just a small sampling:

Spring Pig Ribbin' - Hawkinsville, Georgia

Vidalia Onion Festival - Vidalia, Georgia

World Catfish Festival - Belzoni, Mississippi

The World's Biggest Fish Fry - Paris, Tennessee

Hog Wild - Pig Crazy - Lake City, Florida

Blues and BBQ - Savannah, Georgia

High Cotton Cookin' - Greenwood, Mississippi

Pig Jig Cookoff - Columbus, Georgia

Poteet Strawberry Festival - Poteet, Texas (Home of the 7 foot tall, 1600 pound strawberry monument!)

Fire House BBQ Contest - Kings Mountain, NC

Seafood Festival - St Augustine, FL

BBQ and Shag Festival - Hemingway, South Carolina

World Grits Festival - St. George, South Carolina

[Jaymes]

Food, music, quality.

Like this?

See! THAT'S why you shouldn't stick around for the crowning of the queen.

I have seen something on ftv about a spam festival, but I thought it was in Seattle. They mentioned Tom Robbins cooking up a can every year on his birthday. Does this mean there are 2??? Or, maybe...even more???

and Shiner Bock is a natural pairing. That I didn't know.

And our own Foodie52 won the Spamarama Cookoff one year with her "delightful Spam Chaudfroid."

[stuart_s]

Here are a couple lists that I've bookmarked. I've also bookmarked several individual festivals. Goetta (?), pierogi, ramps, mushrooms, Cleveland, Taste of Chinatown.

I'm also boomarking websites for various "restaurant weeks." Vancouver seems like one to be really excited about. New York, of course. Also Atlanta, DC, Boston, Philadelphia, San Diego, Seattle, Toronto... Some of these aren't linked. My linking finger got tired.

If you find more websites for festivals and restaurant weeks, I think it would be very helpful if you bookmarked them in del.icio.us (it seems named for just this) in addition, of course, to adding them here.

[judiu]

Well, there is this list of Southern Food Festivals from dixiedining.com   which includes some interesting events ... just a small sampling:

Spring Pig Ribbin' - Hawkinsville, Georgia

Vidalia Onion Festival - Vidalia, Georgia

World Catfish Festival - Belzoni, Mississippi

The World's Biggest Fish Fry - Paris, Tennessee

Hog Wild - Pig Crazy - Lake City, Florida

Blues and BBQ - Savannah, Georgia

High Cotton Cookin' - Greenwood, Mississippi

Pig Jig Cookoff - Columbus, Georgia

Poteet Strawberry Festival - Poteet, Texas (Home of the 7 foot tall, 1600 pound strawberry monument!)

Fire House BBQ Contest - Kings Mountain, NC

Seafood Festival - St Augustine, FL

BBQ and Shag Festival - Hemingway, South Carolina

World Grits Festival - St. George, South Carolina

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You forgot the Plant City Strawberry Festival in Plant City, FL right outside Tampa. TOO yummy!

[patti]

BBQ and Shag Festival - Hemingway, South Carolina

That sounds a little messy.

[chickenlady]

Gilroy Garlic Festival is always a classic, and it's coming up soon. Where else can you taste garlic ice cream (surprisingly refreshing served in half a cantaloupe) and garlic wine (as bad as it sounds). Plus it's a gorgeous stretch of California to visit. (Tip: if you're camping the night after attending, be sure to leave your rainfly unzipped! )

Saveur Magazine also publishes a list of events, food festivals and other dates of notes in the "Fare" section in the beginning of each magazine. I'd tend to view those as reliably quality events. Maybe you could check out back issues.

You can also find quite a few sites with fairly extensive listings by Googling "Food Festivals". I know websites don't help you much with the quality issue. If only you knew of a website where you could bounce your ideas around with a lot of dedicated and knowledgeable food-obsessed people from all over the world...

[highchef]

BBQ and Shag Festival - Hemingway, South Carolina

That sounds a little messy.

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[johnsmith45678]

There's A Taste of Colorado in Denver on Labor Day Weekend.

(I'm surprised that testicle festival isn't held in Severance Colorado - a town named for castration. ;P)