We can all agree that festivals are fun and there’s really probably a festival for everything. There’s certainly a music festival for whatever kind of music you feeling like grooving to! But what better way to experience a new region or culture or even city than through its food? Good thing there are plenty of food festivals to attend. This guide isn’t just for your run-of-the-mill food festivals. Everyone has a brew fest, but does everyone have an apple dumpling fest? Poutine fest? This list showcases the food festivals that really make a state special. Without further ado, here’s the ultimate list of food festivals to keep you fed in all 50 states.
(Make sure to check out the links – several of them feature recipes!)
Alabama – Alabama Blueberry Festival
Celebrated in June when blueberries are at their peak, you can find a host of blueberry-themed items at the Alabama Blueberry Festival. From blueberry cobbler to blueberry ice cream and of course, fresh blueberries, this is your stop to celebrate Alabama’s blueberry industry. You can even buy some blueberry bushes of your very own to take home and plant! Enjoy this article about the Alabama blueberry industry to brush up before the next festival.
Other Alabama food festivals:
Peach Jam Jubilee
Slocomb Tomato Jamboree
Sweet Tea Festival
Sweet Tater Festival
Alaska – Cordova Fungus Festival
I was excited to stumble upon the Cordova Fungus Festival! This festival brags a really fun line up filled with foraging, crafts, tastings, and more. You can step into foraging and learn mushroom identification or you can sit back, make some cute crafts, and try some tasty mushroom dishes.
Other Alaska food festivals:
Blueberry Festival
Copper River Salmon Jam
Kodiak Crab Festival
Arizona – Medjool Date Festival
Yuma, AZ is known for its medjool dates, which are a larger and sweeter variety of date. They grow year round in the area, so to celebrate these tasty little morsels, local farmers come out so that you can taste their wares. In addition to sampling food, there are also chef demonstrations and live music at the Medjool Date Festival!
Other Arizona food festivals:
Rockin’ Taco Street Festival
Phoenix Pizza Festival
Arkansas – Arkansas Cornbread Festival
Love cornbread? Well, you can buy a ticket and sample all the cornbread your heart desires at the Arkansas Cornbread Festival! Its your typical festival experience, except that you can also eat and judge the cornbread competition in this Little Rock festival.
Other Arkansas food festivals:
Arkansas Rice Festival
Tontitown Grape Festival
Johnson County Peach Festival
California – Chula Vista Lemon Festival
Lemon-themed outfits? Lemon cook off? Lemon-y photo ops? Yes, yes, and yes! If you love citrus (or even a good citrus-y aesthetic) then this festival is for you. Nothing makes me more jealous than backyard lemon trees! While the regions lemon orchards are no more, there is still plenty of heritage to celebrate with the Chula Vista Lemon Festival.
Other California food festivals:
California Tamale Festival
Artichoke Festival
California Strawberry Festival
Colorado – Pueblo Chile & Frijoles Festival
Colorado is known to love its green chile and there’s nothing better to pair it with than frijoles (“beans” in Spanish). The Pueblo Chile & Frijoles Festival celebrates this tasty combo and offers a whole bunch of vendors with all the spicy foods your taste buds can handle. Feeling spicy? Enter the jalapeno-eating contest!
Other Colorado food festivals:
Palisade Peach Festival
Olathe Sweet Corn Festival
Cidermass
Connecticut – Pickle Festival
Pickle lovers unite at the Connecticut Pickle Festival! There’s a homemade pickle contest, a pickle eating contest and – can you believe it – a pickle juice drinking contest. If you like pickles more aesthetically than you do eating them, there should also be plenty of pickle-themed wares, live music, and you can try your hand at shot-putting those bad boys farther than anyone else.
Other Connecticut food festivals:
Connecticut Bacon Festival
Milford Oyster Festival
Delaware – Bridgeville Apple-Scrapple Festival
Ever heard of apple-scrapple before? Me either! But you can try some and eat plenty of your fair share of this breakfast food – scrapple mixed with apples – at the Bridgeville Apple-Scrapple Festival. There’s a pageant, a bake-off, and a frying pan toss so there’s definitely something for everyone at this festival.
Other Delaware food festivals:
Delaware Burger Battle
Delaware Seafood Festival
Peach Festival
Florida – Key Lime Festival
Celebrate all that citrus-y goodness brought to you by Florida spread over 5 days at the Key Lime Festival. Whether its pies or cocktails, you’re sure to have fun. There’s even a pool party to cool you off from that Florida sun!
Other Florida food festivals:
Mango Fest
Redland Summer Fruit Festival
Monticello Watermelon Festival
Georgia – Georgia Peach Festival
You can’t hear Georgia without thinking peaches, so of course the Georgia Peach Festival is the place to be! Its spread over two weekends and two towns, so you can definitely get your fill of peach goodies. While you’re there, make sure to get a bite of the World’s Largest Peach Cobbler.
Other Georgia food festivals:
Luck & Moody Peach Festival
A Taste of Africa
A Taste of the South Festival
Paradise Winery Grape Stomp Fest
Hawaii – Wahiawa Pineapple Festival
Sure, you might not be able to drive here, but VW buses are surely a great way to tour the island. And when you do that, make sure to hit up all of the food festivals because YUM. Hawaii is known for pineapple so check out the Wahiawa Pineapple Festival and experience food and culture! Its a relatively new event that benefits a local museum, so you can enter a variety of events and of course, enjoy (and make) plenty of pineapple dishes!
Other Hawaii food festivals:
East Maui Taro Festival
Kona Coffee Cultural Festival
Spam Jam
Flavors of Aloha
Idaho – Family Potato Days
Idaho is synonymous to potatoes in the US, so of course if you’re looking for an Idaho festival to attend, you have to check out Family Potato Days. The reason we all love potatoes is because you can eat them so many different ways, so you can be sure you won’t even get kind of bored with all the potato dishes you can eat! It’s not just food, either. The 2024 festival also includes a potato-themed art installation with art from over 60 artists.
Other Idaho food festivals:
Emmett Chery Festival
Illinois – Shish-ka-bob Festival
The Shish-ka-bob Festival in Illinois features an entire meal focused around the shish-ka-bob. There’s games, there’s live music, and its spread over 2 days so even if you don’t have time to stop, you can always swing by their drive-through to pick up your tasty shish-ka-bobs! How about that? Along with getting some Lebanese cuisine in your tummy, its also for a good cause – its a charity event benefiting relief funds for Lebanon.
Other Illinois food festivals:
Great American Lobster Fest
Little Bear Ribfest
Highwood Bloody Mary Fest
The Big Greek Food Fest of Niles
Indiana – National Dutch Oven Gathering
Cooking with a Dutch oven is seriously the best so as you an imagine, an event dedicated to it would also be the best! Enter the National Dutch Oven Gathering. There’s multiple cooking competitions including main dish, dessert, and bread. New to the Dutch oven scene? You can even take Dutch Oven 101!
Other Indiana food festivals:
Harrison County Popcorn Festival
Frankfort Hot Dog Festival
Pierogi Fest
Iowa – Iowa Cornbread Cornbread Festival
Iowa is the corn state and you can definitely check out a corn festival (see below) or you could check out a cornbread festival and the decision is clear! The Iowa Cornbread Cornbread Festival promises a whole bunch of cornbread in different varieties for you to scarf down. There’s also art, fashion, and music at this Iowa-centric cultural festival.
Other Iowa food festivals:
Gladbrook Corn Carnival
Sweet Corn Serenade
Lisbon Sauerkraut Days
Kansas – American Royal World Series of Barbecue
No matter what regional style of barbecue you like, they are sure to have it at the American Royal World Series of Barbecue! Its literally an international barbecue cook-off and you don’t get much cooler than that. With plenty of food and live music, you can also pick up sauces and wood chips for all your at home grilling needs.
Other Kansas food festivals:
National Festival of Breads
Wichita Wagonmasters Downtown Chili Cookoff
Cajun Food Fest
Kentucky – Kentucky Moonshine Festival
The first drink-centered festival of the list is sure to leave you feeling good. The Kentucky Moonshine Festival promises tasty moonshine drinks created by the Boundary Oak distillery, moonshine inspired artwork, and of course plenty of food to line that stomach.
Other Kentucky food festivals:
Buttermilk Days Festival
Carlisle Blackberry Festival
Knott County Gingerbread Festival
Louisiana – Soul Food Festival
The Louisiana Soul Food Festival is 3 days of all the delicious southern food and amazing music you can imagine! From cooking competitions to vendors and plenty of live music, the celebration of the soul of the South is bound to be a great time. And because its not limited to a single dish, the options for food are undoubtedly endless.
Other Louisiana food festivals:
Natchitoches Meat Pie Festival
Louisiana Bourbon Festival
Okra Festival
Maine – Whoopie Pie Festival
Did you know the whoopie pie is the state treat of Maine? You do now! And if you want to celebrate this once locals-only food, then you’ll want to check out the Maine Whoopie Pie Festival. There’s merch and activities to enjoy, but of course, there’s also sampling and competitions of the whoopie pie. From traditional to creative, you’ll find something to fit your palette!
Other Maine food festivals:
Red Hot Dog Festival
Maine Moxie Festival
Maine Fiddlehead Festival
Maryland – Maryland Mac & Cheese Festival
If you’re into macaroni and cheese, and lets be honest – who isn’t? – then this is or you! Why? Because the Maryland Mac & Cheese Festival boasts over 45 different styles of macaroni and cheese and if you get the VIP pass, you can eat unlimited Mac & Cheese for two whole hours! Combine that with live music, bull riding, and a cheese fountain and you’re bound to have a great time.
Other Maryland food festivals:
Spud Fest
Maryland Seafood Festival
Cumberland Bacon Festival
Massachusetts – Bean Town Bean Fest
How can you not want to visit a festival called the Bean Town Bean Fest? Even if beans aren’t really your thing, the merch has to be so cute! Bean Fest is a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural food experience that involves food and product all containing – you guessed it – beans. Even the games are bean-themed! Not only can you get some free food and samples, you can also enjoy some live music.
Other Massachusetts food festivals:
What the Fluff?
Boston Veg Food Fest
Asparagus Festival
Michigan – Michigan Honey Festival
If you love bees and you love honey, the Michigan Honey Festival is worth a visit! There’s honey tasting and honey judging, along with vendors and demos. If you’re interested in beekeeping, there’s demos about beeswax, commercial beekeeping, and the varieties of honey! Maybe demos aren’t your thing – that’s okay because there’s also live music and a performance of dancing grandmas.
Other Michigan food festivals:
Fish Sandwich Festival
Annual Blueberry Festival
Munger Potato Festival
Minnesota – Curd Fest
I don’t know if there’s too much that’s better in this world than cheese, so join all of us in celebrating at Curd Fest, hosted by Redhead Creamery. Focusing on delicious cheese curds, you’ll have all your classic options as well as things like curd kabobs and pan-fried curds. There aren’t many festivals in which you can enjoy a hand-milking competition, so that definitely makes this unique and if you cheese yourself out? You can relax by getting some snuggles with some fluffy cows!
Other Minnesota food festivals:
Super Rhubarb Festival
Cupcakes, Chocolate, & Coffee Festival
Cottage Grove Strawberry Fest
Mississippi – Cafi Tomato Festival
There’s something for everyone at the Cafi Tomato Festival. A parade, vendors, and an art show promise to deliver a great time. That doesn’t even include the Tomato Queen and Tomato Pooch contests! Tomatoes are a big deal – there’s also a tomato museum you can visit!
Other Mississippi food festivals:
Peanut Festival
Gulf Coast Shrimp Tasting Festival
Hambone Festival
Missouri – Sliced Bread Day
Celebrate the first place to ever slice bread at Sliced Bread Day in Missouri. There’s vendors and live music, but the star of the festival are the sliced bread baking contests and the sliced bread pageants! And before the festival is over, make sure to check out the historical building sliced bread was first sold and the whole reason the day exists to celebrate it.
Other Missouri food festivals:
Das Bevo Wurst Festival
Heart of America Hot Dog Festival
Saint Louis Garlicfest
Montana – Old Salt Festival
2025 will be the third annual Old Salt Festival in Montana. Its held to celebrate the western way of life so you can be sure there will be ranchers, western makers, Americana, and the featured food: wood-fired cooking. Its sponsored by the Old Salt Co-op and is located on the Mannix Family Ranch. It doesn’t get much more Montana than that!
Other Montana food festivals:
Lewistown Chokecherry Festival
FebFest
Nebraska – Kool-aid Days
Kool-aid Days is sure to have plenty of nostalgia. Hastings is the hometown of Kool-aid, so there’s no better place to celebrate it. There’s plenty of Kool-aid sampling (and I bet they have Kool-aid pickles). There’s also a parade where I’m confident you can see the Kool-aid man, himself.
Other Nebraska food festivals:
Kolach Days
Testicle Festival
Nevada – Vegas Unstripped
Vegas Unstripped is food festival by chefs with chefs so if you’re a foodie, you’re going to get some amazing food! It was created to celebrate the booming food industry in Vegas off the strip and it promises to have very creative, very delicious fare. All the food for just the cost of a ticket, but it is 21+ only.
Other Nevada food festivals:
Great American Foodie Fest
Nugget Best in the West Rib Cook-off
New Hampshire – PoutineFest
New Hampshire’s beloved dish of french fries, cheese curds, and gravy takes center stage at New Hampshire PoutineFest. PoutineFest is a place where poutine lovers come together to battle it out for who has the best poutine. Chef’s and restaurants are bringing their A-game so you can rest assured there will be some phenomenal food!
Other New Hampshire food festivals:
Winter Wine Festival
Merrimack Wine & Cheese Fest
New Jersey – Hard Cider Festival
The New Jersey Hard Cider Festival is located on Melick’s Town Farm. They are the largest apple grower in New Jersey and they also make cider and wine! A ticket gets you 2 glasses and you can also grab some BBQ while you’re there. You can stroll the orchards while listening to live music or take a free wagon ride through the farm.
Other New Jersey food festivals:
Mac and Cheese Mayhem
Maple Sugaring Fest
Taste of Greece Greek Festival
New Mexico – Hatch Chile Festival
If you know New Mexico then you know green chile. The Hatch valley in New Mexico is where Hatch green chiles are commercially cultivated and the Hatch Chile Festival is the festival to celebrate it all! There is food, vendors, a train ride, and even a parade.
Other New Mexico food festivals:
National Fiery Foods and BBQ Show
Burrito Smackdown
New Mexico Prickly Pear Festival
New York – Cayuga Lake Wine & Herb Festival
If you’re a foodie that also likes to cook, the Cayuga Lake Wine & Herb Festival is the must-attend festival. You know that feeling when you eat the perfect meal at a restaurant and you just wish you could replicate it at home? Well, this event allows you to buy the herbs featured in the dishes you sample and sends you with the recipe card. Add in a nice wine pairing and you have yourself a grand experience!
Other New York food festivals:
Glen Falls Vegan Festival
Dryden Dairy Day
Syracuse Pizza & Pasta Festival
North Carolina – Pimento Cheese Festival
At pretty much any food festival you can expect delicious food, vendors, and live music, but can you expect cheese sculpting? At the Pimento Cheese Festival you sure can! Enjoy this southern delicacy and see if you can take home the gold!
Other North Carolina food festivals:
North Carolina Rice Festival
North Carolina Pickle Festival
Raleigh Greek Food Festival
North Dakota – Fargo Hotdish Festival
Hotdish is a dish best served…hot! Hotdish is a proud midwestern food and the Fargo Hotdish Festival celebrates midwestern culture in the best way. Restaurants put their own spin on this classic dish and there are unlimited samples to try. You can also have some tasty desserts while you’re at it!
Other North Dakota food festivals:
Sauerkraut Day
Annual Rhubarb Festival
Juneberry Pie Festival
Ohio – Donut Fest Cincinnati
Circular pastries are bound at Donut Fest Cincinnati. If you dream to eat at least 3 whole donuts, then this is the spot to be but pace yourself! Samples at Donut Fest aren’t just little squares – you can plan for at least a quarter or maybe even a whole donut! Donuts, beer, and coffee at your fingertips with this Ohio festival.
Other Ohio food festivals:
Utica Old Fashioned Ice Cream Festival
Martini & Vodka Fest Cleveland
Moonshine Festival
Oklahoma – Farm to Table Festival
Oklahoma is ranch country and what better way to celebrate agriculture than their very own Farm to Table Festival? There will be chuckwagon cooking along with various demonstrations and activities to enjoy. There will also be Oklahoma vendors on site helping you explore how they get their products from them to you.
Other Oklahoma food festivals:
Bixby BBQ & Blues Fest
Huckleberry Festival
Westville Melon & Barbecue Festival
Oregon – Lunar New Year Food Fest
The Lunar New Year Food Fest is the Asian and Pacific Islander event that you don’t want to miss. Join in on festivities of welcoming in the Lunar New Year along with a wide variety of authentic dishes and food fare. There will be cultural activities and performances alongside eats cultivated by locally owned AAPI vendors.
Other Oregon food festivals:
Fuyu Fest (Sake)
Bloody Mary Festival
Cheese and Meat Festival
Pennsylvania – Philly Street Food Festival
The Philly Street Food Festival is the place to be if you want to get your hands on some delicious Philly Cheesesteak. There will be cooking demos and food competitions. You also aren’t limited to just the cheesesteak – its a celebration of all Philly street food so there will be plenty of options to try!
Other Pennsylvania food festivals:
Beer and Butterflies
Central PA Pretzel Festival
Apple Dumpling Festival
Rhode Island – Newport Oyster & Chowder Festival
Rhode Island is home to 45 oyster farms and the Newport Oyster & Chowder Festival is a way to showcase each farms unique taste. The festival is hosted on the waterfront where farmers will be shucking right along side the restaurants. It doesn’t get much fresher than that!
Other Rhode Island food festivals:
Charlestown Seafood Festival
South Carolina – World Grits Festival
As it turns out, at least in the late 1980’s, St. George South Carolina ate more grits than anywhere else in the world. Cue the World Grits Festival that can host upwards of 45,000 visitors to eat some grits and have a good time. They even have a contest called “Rolling in the Grits” for you to partake in. That’s commitment!
Other South Carolina food festivals:
Mac Arnold Cornbread and Collard Greens Blues Festival
Charleston Brunch Fest
Lexington County Chili Cook-off
Surfside Beach Barbecue Festival
South Dakota – Chislic Festival
The South Dakota Chislic Festival brings you to Freeman, the heart of the “Chislic Circle” for music, food, and vendors. The festival was created to honor the hard-working rural German and Russian communities and their influence in the area. There will be ample opportunity here to enjoy the South Dakota specialty of skewered meat!
Other South Dakota food festivals:
Schmeckfest
Kuchen Festival
Tennessee – Hot Slaw and Art Y’all
Mustard, mayo, and secret sauce make up the hot slaw you’ll find in Cleveland, Tennessee. You’ll find plenty of it at the Hot Slaw Festival, celebrating the state’s first official dish. It’s also an art show where you’ll find exhibits, street performers, and live music alongside all that hot slaw.
Other Tennessee food festivals:
Chuckwagon Cook-off and Competition
Monterey Banana Pudding Festival
National Cornbread Festival
Texas – Jalapeno Festival
Enjoy the heat of the Mexican influence on Texas cuisine at the Laredo Jalapeno Festival. There will be several live performances to enjoy over the course of the 2-day festival. You can also try your hand at the jalapeno eating contest!
Other Texas food festivals:
San Antonio Sweets & Sugar Festival
Texas Onion Fest
Houston Barbecue Festival
Utah – Savor the Summit
Looking for more of a dinner party than a festival? Savor the Summit feature’s a long table winding down Main Street to enjoy the outdoor air while dining on over 80 restaurants. Talk about a way to get some tasty grub while growing community! Oh, and of course there will be live music!
Other Utah food festivals:
Bear Lake Raspberry Days
Living Traditions Festival
Vermont – Southern Vermont Garlic Festival/Garlic Town USA
The tagline for the Southern Vermont Garlic Festival (also known as Garlic Town USA) is “eat, drink, and get stinky” and if that doesn’t sound like a good time eating garlic then I don’t know what is! There’s over 100 vendors all focused around garlic so you are sure to get your fill of garlicky goodness.
Other Vermont food festivals:
Vermont Cheesemakers Festival/Vermont Cheese Week
Vermont Golden Honey Festival
Virginia – Mead & Viking Festival
If you either love mead or feel a strong sense of camaraderie toward the days of the Vikings, then the Virginia Mead & Viking Festival is sure to be a fun time. Enjoy mead from almost a dozen meaderies and then enjoy a Viking feast to finish off the night. You can also enjoy plenty of activities like LARPing or watching fire dancers.
Other Virginia food festivals:
Hanover Tomato Festival
Virginia Cantaloupe Festival
Washington – Dumpling Fest Seattle
Every culture has its own version of the dumpling – bread wrapped around filling. Dumpling Fest is here to make sure you can try each and every one of them! From empanadas to gnocchi and gyoza, you’ll have the option to sample a variety of restaurants.
Other Washington food festivals:
Penn Cove Musselfest
Northeast Washington Mushroom Festival
Washington State Seafood Festival/Oyster Fest
West Virginia – Feast of the Ramson
Ramp is a wild edible and West Virginia is the ramp capitol! Celebrate foraging and wild edibles at the Feast of the Ramson where you can try traditional ramp fare and have some sassafras tea to go alongside it. Dinner is over 4 hours (or until they run out) and there will be live music while you eat.
Other West Virginia food festivals:
Cupcake & Craft Beer Festival
Malden Salt Fest
West Virginia Hot Dog Festival
Wisconsin – Cheese Festival
There’s no better place to celebrate cheese than in the state known for it best. The Wisconsin Cheese Festival hosts artisans, farmers, cheese makers, and vendors to bring all the cheesy goodness to you – the cheese lover! Load up while listening to Americana and Bluegrass with a nice craft brew.
Other Wisconsin food festivals:
World’s Longest Weenie Roast
Donut and Coffee Fest
Wisconsin Grilled Cheese Championship
Muscoda Morel Mushroom Festival
Wyoming – Farm to Fork Festival
The Farm to Fork Festival is brought to you by Slow Food in the Tetons. Its a community event to inspire good eating and sustainable food systems. Grab some tasty food and join some workshops to help celebrate community and the places your food comes from.
Other Wyoming food festivals:
Laramie International Flavor Festival
Suds ‘n Spurs Brewfest
There’s something for everyone, no matter what type of festival is your jam! Get it? Jam. What foods does your state do the best? Have you been to any of these festivals? Let me know in the comments!
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