The holidays are here and most cities are covered in snow and ice; it’s officially winter! But don’t let the winter blues get you down. While there are plenty of food festivals to be enjoyed all throughout the year, there’s nothing quite like kicking off the new year at food festival in you hometown or an unexplored city nearby for the weekend. Here are all the festivals we’ve got our eye on this season.
January
Date: January 7-13
Location: Santa Monica, CA
Many cities kick of the year with restaurant weeks, where the most popular restaurants offer a pre fixe menu of their best selling dishes. Santa Monica is no different. This even runs during California’s Restaurant Month. Restaurants participating in this week-long festival will focus on fresh, healthy foods and many custom dishes will be centered around this years special restaurant week ingredient–the persimmon.
Uncorked Wine and Food Festival
Date: January 10-20
Location: Key Largo, FL
Picture this: 11 days of wine tasting, fresh seafood and beautiful beaches all right outside your hotel door. Sounds amazing, right? Well, it could be your reality if you attend the Uncorked Wine and Food Festival. The festival highlights local culinary chefs and features more than 30 events for every budget and food pallet.
Beer, Bourbon, and BBQ Festival
Date: January 26
Location: Manhattan, NY
The Beer, Bourbon and BBQ Festival is back with a 13 city tour across the U.S. to serve attendees with the best local and national craft beer, bourbon and BBQ there is! The festival will feature more than 60 beers, 40 bourbon labels and more BBQ than your stomach can take.
Date: January 21-Feb 8
Location: New York, NY
New York Restaurant Week is a long standing tradition in the city that we love celebrating. During the three week celebration, the hottest restaurants and buzz-worthy new comers offer pre fixe menus where diners can enjoy their most popular dishes. All the restaurant and their menus will be available January 9, so mark your calendars!
February
Savor Food and Wine Festival
Date: February 2
Location: Tucson, AZ
The Southern Arizona Food and Wine Festival brings together more than 65 chefs from across the region for a day of great food and drinks all happening in Tucson’s beautiful botanical garden. The goal of the event is to highlight and promote independently owned restaurants in the area. The event also seeks to raise awareness of the vibrant culinary community in Tucson and to showcase the Tucson Botanical Gardens’ beautiful grounds.
Date: February 2-3
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Are you one of those people who has never met a cookie they didn’t like? Then this winter festival is for you! This is the biggest baking and pastry convention on the west coast. It will feature live cooking competitions and demonstrations and of course, the opportunity to taste a ton of yummy sweets.
South Beach Food and Wine Festival
Date: February 20-24
Location: Miami, FL
This festival truly has something for everyone. Whether you’re attending with children, trying to stick to a strict budget or looking to learn more about the industry, you’re bound to find something that works for you. In it’s eighteenth year, this festival is put on to benefit Florida International University’s Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management, a program consistently ranked as one of the top 10 programs by the best in the industry.
March
Date: March 2-3
Location: Manhattan, NY
If your interested in owning and operating your own local cafe, or if you just really can’t imagine starting your day without the hottest new coffee trend, this may be the festival for you. Consider Coffee Fest your business to business destination for new products, services and trends in the coffee and tea industry.
Date: March 23
Location: Shreveport, Louisiana
Gumbo is a southern staple, so it only makes sense that a festival to celebrate this classic dish happens in the south as well. For one day only, thousands of people will gather in downtown Shreveport, Louisiana while teams face off in the ultimate gumbo competition! All proceeds will benefit at-risk youth in the area.
Want to stay up to date with where we’re indulging in food next? Sign up for our newsletter and be the first to know where we’re headed!
