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Get The Fork To San Diego For SoCal's Largest Foodie Event
Foodies will want to pack their tank tops and head west to the sixth annual San Diego Bay Wine and Food Festival from November 18 to 22. Southern California's largest wine and food fest will feature culinary stars like James Beard Foundation Award winner for Best American Chef, Southwest, Alex Stratta of the two-star Michelin-rated ALEX at the Wynn Las Vegas; Cooking Light Magazine’s Executive Chef Billy Strynkowski; Peter Mondavi Jr. of Charles Krug winery; James Beard Foundation Award winner for Best Chef, Paul Bartolotta of Bartolotta at the Wynn Las Vegas, celebrity TV star Sam Zien of Sam the Cooking Guy.
The five-day festival will host more than 170 wineries, 70 fine-dining restaurants, gourmet food companies, wine-tasting seminars, celebrity artists, cooking classes by award-winning chefs and more. It's expected to draw 8,000 wine and food enthusiasts.
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Go Balls-Out at Huntley's Turkey Testicle Festival
When November comes around, people's mouths water for turkey—be it the white meat, dark meat or wings. Then there are those who salivate for turkey balls. Seriously. In Huntley, a small suburb about 45 minutes west of downtown Chicago, turkey scrota are as much a Thanksgiving tradition as stuffing at the annual Turkey Testicle Festival, which will swing into town on November 25.
What began as a local tradition has become a draw for tourists. Last year, more than 3,900 people turned out to to the Parkside Pub, the festival's home base, to munch on 1,280 pounds of turkey testes. The small bits—no offense to male turkeys—are coated in breadcrumbs and then cooked crispy in a deep fryer. They taste gamey, like chicken, or so we're told. Some douse them in ketchup or Tabasco, but most people just eat them plain. The bar usually sells out of the treats by 9:30 p.m.
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North Carolina's Ready To Go Hog Wild For Its Barbecue Festival
There’s loads of food festivals dedicated to different kinds of snacks, fried things, and other goodies. However, the key to finding a good festival is to seek out the festival that best represents a famous foodstuff. That’s where Lexington, North Carolina comes in with its annual Barbeque Festival. No clever name here, it just is what it is, and it celebrates one thing—delicious smoked pork.
Annual festivities have been running for over a quarter century, and every year the town’s population swells as over 100,000 visitors hit the town to check out the latest and the greatest related to all things barbeque. The town is famous for their vinegar-based sauce; so don’t come here looking for some super-sweet ribs or brisket. They might have some other cuts of meat for out of towners, but it’s primarily going to be pork shoulder that you’ll be enjoying. Just make sure you save room for some of the area's unique coleslaw. It’s like regular slaw except you replace the mayonnaise dressing with one based on the almighty power of ketchup—don’t knock it until you try it.
Tags: Vegetarian Travel / Food Festivals / Food Travel / Events / Boston Travel / → All Tags
Delicious Plants Await You At The Boston Veg Food Fest
Bust out your favorite organic cotton T-shirt as it’s time for the Boston Vegetarian Food Festival. Things kick off on October 31 and run through November 1 at the Reggie Lewis Athletic Center in Beantown. We know that it’s hard to resist bacon for an entire day, but festival organizers have such a full lineup that you won’t even remember what a pig tastes like.
There will be plenty of exhibitors hawking their vegetarian wares and offering a ton of free samples, so you may want to skip breakfast for this one. Once you’ve discovered your new favorite ingredient, take in a presentation by professional chefs so you can learn how to prepare some new dishes. Maybe they’ll even teach you that you really do enjoy broccoli—you were just making it wrong for all those years. This is the longest running festival of its kind in the country, so you won’t be disappointed. They just want to share a love for delicious plants with you and your friends.
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Sydney Takes 'Shrimp On A Barbie' Seriously During International Food Fest
No visitor to Sydney will go hungry next month: October is the Sydney International Food Festival and there will be numerous ways to satisfy your foodie cravings.
What used to be the local newspaper's Good Food Month has now become something grander. But not too grand; being Aussies, they're kicking off the festival with a free barbecue at lunchtime on Saturday, October 3 in Taylor Square and at the same time, a not-quite-free barbecue which they're calling an Opera Beer-b-cue because it takes place near the Sydney Opera House and your A$12 ($10) charge includes a barbecue plate "matched with a beer".
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Cran Fans Head For Mecca: Wisconsin's Cranberry Festival
Now that fall is officially here, our minds—and stomachs—start to yearn for the tastes of autumn. Pumpkins, apples, and even cranberries all start to take priority over corn-on-the-cob and baked beans. Although we are fans of cranberries, especially with a generous side of turkey, we have a lot to learn before this year’s Warrens Cranberry Festival in Wisconsin.
It’s the world’s largest cranberry festival and they want everyone to know about it. There’s over 1000 booths on display with people selling their arts and crafts, flea market finds, and probably just some junk from around the house. All together the vendors make up over three miles, so you probably want to fill your water bottle up with some Ocean Spray for a little extra energy. They are expecting over 100,000 fans of the cran this weekend as things run from September 25 to 27.
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Would You Eat 'Burgoo,' Let Alone Go To A Festival Celebrating It?
Here’s a food festival for the person who has seen and eaten everything already. It’s the Anderson County Burgoo Festival in Kentucky, and apparently, the county is also the burgoo capital of the world. In case you didn’t know—and we definitely didn’t—burgoo is a sort of stew like mixture kind of like gumbo or chili but also kind of not. It’s really popular in Kentucky and they love to throw all kinds of meat into it, whether it be pork, chicken, or mutton. We’re thinking if they had some other stuff around—like fresh opossum roadkill—that it probably could and has been included throughout the years.
At this year’s festival, we’re hoping that only the freshest ingredients are used to prepare the celebration’s namesake. This weekend from September 25 to 27, the streets come alive with the sights, smells, and sensations of the mighty burgoo. There will be plenty of music to entertain the crowds, pumpkin painting for the little burgoo fans, and a boniest knee contest. Sorry ladies, but the contest is apparently for gentleman only. So get a warm cup of the stew and grab a good spot for the tractor pull.
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Spend Labor Day Feasting At The Annual National Buffalo Wing Festival
Another Labor Day, another annual National Buffalo Wing Festival. The Buffalo, NY event stretches back to 1992, when Wing King Drew Cerza was inspired to start it by Bill Murray's junk food addicted character in "Osmosis Jones." Over the years, it's grown from a small competitive eating spectacle to a full-blown convention--hosting over 400,000 total people, generating over $125,000 for New York charities, and even serving as the site of a wedding.
This year's gala promises to build on last year's gigantic festival, where more than 78,000 people consumed over 27 tons of wings.
Buffalo Wing Festival organizers are fond of describing the spectrum of sauces as stretching from the mild to the suicidal, with dozens upon dozens of stands serving their specialties. The "Official Wing Sauce of the National Buffalo Wing Festival," Frank's RedHot, will be given away from a booth at the festival. There are also a variety of eating contests, including one that involves bobbing for chicken wings in a vat of blue cheese.
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Labor Day Is The Apple Of North Carolina's Eye
Of course we’re sad that summer is winding down right before our eyes, but Labor Day is usually a good send off into the crisp days of the fall. That’s why we’ve picked the North Carolina Apple Festival as a cool way to ease us into an autumnal attitude. After all, a few apples in the system will probably help counteract all the overindulgences we’ve experienced this summer.
Set in the western part of the state, among the mountains, is Hendersonville, and their main street area is going to be buzzing with the sights of Red Delicious, Galas, and Rome Beauties. The state is in the top ten of apple production in the country, and they certainly want you to know it. Music, arts and crafts, and of course food will all ring in the harvest season. Make it a priority to get an applejack; it’s pretty much an apple fritter, but with a better name and a better taste.
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Scream For Ice Cream At Austin's Scoop Fest
If you weren’t paying attention earlier this year and missed out on the party in Beantown, you’ve got a second chance to totally pig out on the sweet treat that is ice cream. This Saturday, Austin hosts its third annual Austin Ice Cream Festival. Of course there’ll be loads of ice cream to eat, but as the festival celebrates its third scoop, there’s much more than just gluttony to keep everyone entertained.
Yes, there will be an ice cream eating contest, but it’s only available to the first 30 people that sign up on the day of the festival—so get there early. We’re wimps and can’t stand the thought of a solid hour of brain freeze, so we’ll probably bust out our elementary school arts and crafts skills at the Popsicle Stick Sculpture Contest. It’s free to enter and there are pretty much no rules, just no pre-notched sticks, so make whatever you want to impress the judges.
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Summer in Frisco: Our Top Event Picks For August in SF
Last week we brought you a short list of creative ways to explore the Bay Area, and today, we continue our exploration of San Francisco and offer a couple surrounding travel options.
As San Francisco's famed Indian Summer approaches, temperatures are on the rise, making the coming months an optimal time for visiting. Remember, these suggestions are merely a jumping (or jaunting) off point, so feel free to chime in with your favorite Bay Area sights, sounds, and the like.
· The Outside Lands Music Festival
With a lineup of popular artists including Pearl Jam, T.V. on the Radio and M.I.A., Outside Lands returns to Golden Gate Park from August 28-30, and, again, is expected to draw thousands of avid concertgoers to dance, drink (responsibly), and be merry outdoors. We're happy to see shuttle options on the festival's website, including a three-day pass for those attending shows over the entire weekend. As attendees last year, let's just say the taxi/public transportation scene wasn't pretty post-show. If you can swing the extra cost, VIP access is always the way to go, and will entitle you to Polo Club access (think shade and massage service), exclusive viewing areas, a VIP food selection, and much more.
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Bring The Beano For A Canadian Baked Bean Festival
About two hours outside of Detroit and within a stones throw of Lake Huron sits the town of Zurich, Ontario. If you haven’t already had more than your share of baked beans this season, then you may want to head north to Zurich in a couple weeks to take in their 44th Annual Bean Festival on Saturday, August 22.
Any festival that has been going strong for this long has got to be a good one, and the Zurich festival is no exception—especially with a such a unique food focus. Friday night kicks things off with a classic car cruise and ends with a blast of fireworks in the night sky. They’ll park the cars so you can see them over the weekend, and there are a lot of them too; it’s one of the largest car shows in Ontario.
The big day is when the “bean meal” is consumed. Over a ton of raw beans are turned into their top secret recipe and are served along smoked pork, coleslaw and applesauce. However, if the aftershocks of all that bean consumption hasn't cleared the area by dark on Saturday night, there'll even be a "bean dance" to wrap up the festivities.
Related Stories: [Photo: Mattsip]
· Zurich Bean Festival [Official Site]
· There's Nothing Corny About Iowa's 'Shuckfest 2009' [Jaunted]
· Festivals coverage [Jaunted]
