15 Food Festivals That Are Worth Attending At Least Once

Mark your calendars and pack your bags — because we're headed to some amazing food festivals! Throughout the year and across the country, cities hold their annual gatherings that celebrate the vibrant cultures and cuisines that make up their communities. For food-focused tourists, any of these 15 festivals can be the highlight of a road trip or the purpose of the journey itself.

Whether you're looking for sweet treats or savory indulgences, there's something to whet everyone's appetite on this list. Some festivals focus on a singular ingredient, while others take on a swathe of regional delicacies. There are festivals that last only for a day, while others keep the party going for almost a month. Local vendors, celebrity chefs, and beloved restaurants all might pop up to show their support for a food-centric event. 

And food festivals often include a whole lot more than sampling (even if that's your favorite part). Enjoy live entertainment, cooking demonstrations, recipe contests, artisan crafts, and much more at any of these events (chihuahua beauty pageant, anyone?). If you're planning a foodie trip this year, let this list of some of the top foodie festivals be your guide.

From March 28 to April 27, 2025, visitors to Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California can enjoy the festival that celebrates the little berry that could. Knott's Boysenberry Festival honors the boysenberry, a berry that's an amalgam of four different berries: raspberry, blackberry, dewberry, and loganberry. This sweet-tart fruit gets a starring role in the annual food festival, which offers guests a chance to enjoy plenty of rides, crafts, and foods, as well as a pie-eating contest and cookie decorating activity.

While the theme park is available to visit year-round, the Boysenberry Festival is a special springtime treat. Items sold around the park feature the boysenberry, and they range from the sweet to the savory. In 2024, attendees could sample a baked potato with pulled pork and boysenberry sauce, a boysenberry lemon square, and even boysenberry sausage. You can also visit Mrs. Knott's Chicken Dinner Restaurant, which serves up boysenberry cocktails (because there's nothing like adding fresh fruit to cocktails), along with boysenberry pie.

There's loving pickles and then there's really loving pickles. If you're a super fan of the tangy, fermented little cucumber, you'll definitely want to mark down the month of July on your calendar and make a point of attending Picklesburgh. The festival that, naturally, is held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is a briny bonanza that is all about all things pickled.

In addition to the gigantic pickle displays and merchandise available for sale, Picklesburgh also has contests for pickle juice chugging, pickle-eating, and pickle bobbing. For lil' gherkins (their phrase, not ours), there's even a play area with face painting and crafts. If you're looking to sample the flavors of the briny deep, Picklesburgh has everything you could want and more. At the Taste of Picklesburgh, 2024's local vendors offered an impressively diverse menu of pickled creations. Some notable dishes include the Pickle-tini, pickle cake pops, pickle pizza, and pickled wings. While we might give the cake pops a miss, we could be persuaded to try the others. In the name of science, of course.

Celebrated for more than 70 years, the Maine Lobster Festival is a foodie's dream. The annual five-day event takes place in early August and sees tens of thousands of seafood lovers arrive to enjoy a crackin' good time. Like many festivals, the Maine Lobster Festival has live entertainment and children's events, but it also has some more on-theme activities, like the International Great Crate Race, which sees unbalanced racers jump across wooden lobster crates strung across the water.

Of course, while there's plenty of fun to be had throughout the nearly weeklong event, most guests come for the food. And 20,000 pounds of the crustacean are required for this foodie festival — cooked into some truly tantalizing dishes. Tie on your bib and get ready to dig into lobster macaroni and cheese, lobster rolls, lobster bisque, and more. If you're the type who wants their lobster in their purest form, the Maine Lobster Festival has that, too: In the Eating Tent, lobster fans can indulge in one, two, or even three perfectly steamed lobsters alongside classic New England fare like sweet corn on the cob.

If you're on a budget but still in search of delicious food, the culinary destination of New Orleans has the answer. Every April for four days, tourists can attend the French Quarter Festival, a free event loaded with music, Mardi Gras celebrations and, of course, food. This year's celebrations occur from April 10-13, 2025, so pack your bags if you're looking to attend the city's "favorite festival."

Across 20 stages, attendees can enjoy live entertainment and music, including traditional jazz, brass, and zydeco bands. The energy of the festival is infectious, and the verve and vigor of the occasion can be seen in the food. Local restaurants, famous chefs, and international sponsors all make their way to the French Quarter for this exuberant celebration. Culinary highlights of previous years' menus include iconic dishes like jambalaya, Creole po'boys, and beignets alongside internationally inspired plates such as Korean fried chicken drumsticks, KFC bao, and spicy tuna sushi tacos.

You may have just missed out on the 2025 South Beach Wine & Food Festival presented by Food Network, but the multi-day event already has dates for 2026: February 19-22. The massive celebration has seen food and restaurant experts, Food Network stars, and foodie influencers walk across its stage, including such luminaries as Guy Fieri, Bobby Flay, Duff Goldman, Cat Cora, and the late Anthony Bourdain.

Benefiting Florida International University's Chaplin School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, the event has raised more than $40 million to date. Dubbed "the spring break for chefs," the South Beach Wine & Food Festival invites attendees to eat, drink, and learn, through a series of tastings, demos, classes, and seminars. Tickets range in price from $40-$550, depending on how much access you're looking for to hobnob with your favorite Food Network celebs, but we think it's worth attending at least once.

More than just a theme park, Epcot at Walt Disney World also offers a myriad of culinary curiosities. During the holiday season, the restaurants located at the park take on a seasonal flair, in decor as well as on their menus. If anyone's going to do the holidays right, it's Disney, and the Epcot International Festival of the Holidays doesn't disappoint.

At the World Showcase, guests are invited to sample holiday treats from different cultures and cuisines. In 2024, visitors could tuck into the classic slow-roasted turkey with all the fixings at the American Adventure before digging into a chicken empanada over in Mexico.

Of course, no visit to the Epcot International Festival of the Holidays would be complete without taking part in the Holiday Cookie Stroll. At various kiosks, guests can pick up a seasonal cookie that pays homage to a different culture or cuisine. And 2024's sweet treats included a Hazelnut Linzer Cookie from the Bavarian Holiday Kitchen, a Peppermint Pinwheel cookie from the Yukon Holiday Kitchen, and a Cinnamon-Spiced Chocolate Crinkle Cookie from Nochebuena Cochina.

Finger lickin' good! The birthplace of the buffalo wing — Buffalo, New York, naturally — holds an annual festival celebrating the saucy bar staple, the National Buffalo Wing Festival. For more than 20 years, restaurants and musicians have converged on the city to celebrate the humble buffalo wing, with notable chefs Bobby Flay and Emeril Lagasse also popping by to film segments for their shows.

In 2025, the two-day festival occurs on August 30-31 and showcases a wide array of chicken wing flavors for attendees to sample. The National Buffalo Wing Festival also has a slew of wing-themed events, including a hot wing eating contest, bobbing for wings, an amateur wing "sauce-off," and more. If you're just looking for good grub, this food festival has you covered. In addition to the plethora of wings, those who are maybe not so gung-ho about gorging on chicken can enjoy traditional festival fare like pizza, burgers, and an array of desserts.

Taco 'bout an exciting event! From May 3-4 of 2025, taco lovers can take a trip to the West Coast and swing by San Diego for a taste of some of the best tacos in the country. At SoCal Taco Fest, hungry attendees dig into delicious offerings like carnitas tostadas, chicken fajitas, and pupusas, to name just a few. If you find yourself thirsty in the hot California sun, how about sipping on a refreshing margarita (maybe make it spicy!) or michelada? And, true to the eclectic Southern California spirit, this festival is about way more than just food.

At SoCal Taco Fest, guests can experience entertainment that's more than just live music. A regular occurrence at this foodie festival is luchador fighting (also known as lucha libre fighting), as well as chihuahua racing and chihuahua beauty pageants. So, pick up a couple tacos, grab a portable margarita, and get ready to enjoy a festival that is truly unlike any other.

Another free foodie festival that doesn't require tickets to enjoy access is Taste of Chicago. This event has been in operation for more than 40 years, with 2025's celebration occurring from September 5-7 in Grant Park. (Additional pop-up events for Taste of Chicago will be happening throughout the summer at different parks, on June 28, July 19, and August 9, if you can't make the September dates.)

The beloved tourist attraction brings together lovers of food, music, and more. Different food vendors, restaurants, and food trucks are available for your gastronomic pleasure, and they'll be dishing up more than iconic Chicago favorites like deep-dish pizza and hot dogs. On the final day of the event, visitors should be sure to pop by Eli's Cheesecake Birthday Celebration. The Chicago-area eatery Eli's has been serving up cheesecake since 1978, and, for Taste of Chicago, helps to end the festivities by slicing and serving up a ceremonial 1,000 pound cheesecake for guests to enjoy.

Some of the most fun food festivals are those surrounding a particular food or dish. Seeing the unique interpretations on a familiar treat can help broaden culinary horizons while filling bellies — and some even do it for a good cause! Such is the case with Beignet Fest, taking place November 15, 2025 in New Orleans.

The iconic beignet — that fluffy, pillowy pocket of deep-fried heaven — is transformed into something new, with sweet options as well as savory. The festival is in support of Beignet Fest Foundation, which donates to community programs designed to assist children with developmental delays.

At 2025's Beignet Fest, hungry attendees should feel free to stuff their faces in pursuit of a good cause. Some of the more unique offerings on the menu are crawfish and corn beignets, plantain mochi beignets, candied sweet potato beignets, and even ice cream-stuffed beignets. If, for whatever reason, beignets aren't to your liking, you still won't go home with an empty stomach: Crowd-pleasing eats like fried chicken, mac and cheese, gumbo, and pulled pork sandwiches are also available.

Las Vegas is already a popular haven and must-visit destination for foodies, but the Great American Foodie Fest may be the jewel in the city's crown. Taking place from May 9-11, 2025's festival will see chefs from all across the country make the trip to the desert to share in their culinary creations.

As one of the largest food festivals on the West Coast, it may come as a surprise that admission is dirt-cheap: A mere $10 will get you unlimited three-day access to the event. Of course, from there you'll have to pay whatever prices the food trucks, chefs, and kiosks have for their tasty creations. From gourmet street foods to classic American dishes to international delights, there's plenty to keep even the hungriest visitor satisfied. For when you want a break from gorging, you can also enjoy carnival rides, games, and attractions, test your skills at any of the eating contests, or kick back and relax at the beer and cocktail garden.

Be sure to bring plenty of napkins on your next trip to Lexington, North Carolina if you're planning to stop by their annual Barbecue Festival. On October 25, 2025, hungry attendees can sample from more than 250 vendors, take in the entertainment and live music across six stages, and enjoy plenty of street performers. The wide-ranging event also boasts a bike stunt show, a dog stunt show, and a car stunt show, so there's no chance of getting bored.

For pint-sized visitors, the Lexington Barbecue Festival also offers a KidZone. There, kiddos can enjoy inflatable rides, games, a rock climbing wall, photo booth, and more.

Of course, being a barbecue food festival, there's plenty of places to enjoy Southern-style grub. This one-day-only event that sees 200,000 visitors per year dishes up some of BBQ's finest, Lexington-style! True to its name, Lexington Barbecue Festival only serves Lexington-style 'que. Chopped BBQ pork gets the signature Lexington sauce (a tangy red sauce) and is served on a sandwich for this festival.

It may be its second appearance on our list, but that's because Epcot really knows how to pull out all the stops when it comes to tantalizing our taste buds. At the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival, guests can enjoy what Walt Disney World calls "a feast for the senses." Like their Flavors of the Holidays event, visitors can travel among all the countries located in the World Showcase as well as special kiosks coordinated specifically for the festivities. Different cuisines and cultures can be sampled to delicious effect, from the sweet to the savory to beverages.

Some of the mouth-watering items that were available on 2024's menu include a Korean BBQ chicken sandwich, a flight of french fries, peanut butter and jelly sticky wings, a crispy duck bao bun, and much more. Add this sun-filled foodie destination to your bucket list where you can eat and drink your heart out!

Doing right by its designation as "the Dairy State," Wisconsin is home to the annual Cheese Curd Festival, which takes place June 27-28, 2025 in the town of Ellsworth. While the town's population may be small (just over 3,000), they have a big appetite for cheese curds. According to the festival's website, 6,000 pounds of the squeaky cheese will be enjoyed by attendees, along with more than 30 varieties of craft beer, hard ciders, and local wines. This isn't your regular night of wine and cheese, that's for sure.

At the Cheese Curd Festival, visitors can enjoy a brewery face-off, where breweries battle to create the best pairing of curds and beer, as well as enjoy unlimited sampling and light appetizers from breweries, vendors, and reps. There's also live music, artisan crafts, a classic car show, and even an ice cream tasting. Sounds like a pretty great way to celebrate the humble cheese curd.

When you have access to miles of beautiful coastline, it's only natural to create a food festival that brings the state the best of what the ocean has to offer. The Kaua'i Poke Fest takes place June 13-14, 2025 at Koloa Landing Resort, a four-star hotel in Koloa, Hawaii. "Poke", which means "to cut or slice" in Hawaiian, is a dish that became extremely popular in the 1990s and its creation as a part of Hawaiian cuisine is credited to master chef Sam Choy, who developed the first poke recipe contest for amateur and professional chefs.

At the Kaua'i Poke Fest 2025, it's Choy who will be presenting various poke dishes as well as leading a poke-making demonstration for visitors. The event has taken place since 2019 and also offers guests the opportunity to enjoy traditional Hawaiian entertainment, food, drinks, and a poke tasting. Within the poke tasting, guests are asked to vote on their favorite dish, where the first-place winner will receive $2,000, a complementary two-night stay at the Koloa Landing Resort, and other prizes.