Food festivals allow you to try great food you might not have tried otherwise. The food is usually local to the area or just a specialty item. Here are the 10 unique food festivals in the United States.
Windy City Smokeout – Chicago, Illinois
The Windy City Smokeout is a four-day barbecue and live music festival. This festival brings more than 20 of the best pit masters to share their delicious barbecue. There is also live country music, giving you something great to listen to while you eat.
Maine Lobster Festival – Rockland, Maine
Rockland, Maine has self-proclaimed the area as the lobster capital of the world. Every year there is the Maine Lobster Festival, showing its love for the lobster. The festival is a five-day affair and it includes live music, a parade, and even a crate race.
Kauai Poke Festival – Koloa, Hawaii
Hawaii’s signature dish is poke. It includes raw fish that is cut into pieces. The Kauai Poke Festival has 20 chefs creating their poke creations for guests to enjoy. One of the highlights of the whole festival is when celebrity chef Sam Choy does a poke demonstration.
National Fried Chicken Festival – New Orleans, Louisiana
The South loves their fried chicken and New Orleans has some of the best made. The National Fried Chicken Festival has more than 50 restaurants from different states bringing their delicious dishes all to one place. Quite a few different things are going on for entertainment such as live music and cooking demonstrations. There is also more than just fried chicken, so you will get to try a variety of different foods.
Easton Garlic Fest – Easton, Pennsylvania
Now a garlic festival might sound kind of bizarre, but the Easton Garlic Fest sure is one of the best food festivals to go to. With the tribute to garlic, there are many events to enjoy, such as a best garlic dish contest, best garlic dessert contest, and live music. There is also a section for kids’ entertainment. Local businesses come together and sell different merch.
Waikiki Spam Jam – Honolulu, Hawaii
Spam has become a staple of Hawaii, having been brought to the island during World War II. The Waikiki Spam Jam is a one-day festival that honors the pork product. This festival is for a good cause, the proceeds go to a local food bank.
National Buffalo Wing Festival – Buffalo, New York
There is nothing like having a buffalo wing festival in Buffalo, New York! The festivities are held in Highmark Stadium, which is the home of the Buffalo Bills. Quite a few contests are going on during this festival, like bobbing for chicken wings in a pool of blue cheese dressing and wing-eating championships.
Cheese Curd Festival – Ellsworth, Wisconsin
Wisconsin sure is known for its cheese! Cheese curds are a derivative of the cheesemaking process, and are the belle of the ball at the Cheese Curd Festival. The local Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery makes thousands of pounds of curds to be enjoyed at the festival. Don’t worry though, there are all types of dairy products at this festival, including ice cream for your sweet tooth!
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Picklesburgh – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Picklesburgh is where you can have anything you want that is pickled. There are a lot of different foods and drinks that have different pickled ingredients. Some of the entertainment includes pickle juice drinking, a play area for kids, and all the pickle merchandise you can handle!
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Delta Hot Tamale Festival – Greenville, Mississippi
The Delta Hot Tamale Festival makes sense to be in Greenville, Mississippi because it has a United States patent and trademark for being the hot tamale capital of the world. There are plenty of contests at the festival, such as tamale eating, cooking, and even a beauty pageant. The weekend has a lot of festivities, such as live music, food trucks, and panel discussions.
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