{"id":64,"date":"2009-05-20T08:58:00","date_gmt":"2009-05-20T13:58:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2009\/05\/food-festivals-add-spice-to-summer-vacation\/"},"modified":"2016-12-17T12:01:46","modified_gmt":"2016-12-17T18:01:46","slug":"food-festivals-add-spice-to-summer-vacation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2009\/05\/food-festivals-add-spice-to-summer-vacation\/","title":{"rendered":"Food festivals add spice to summer vacation"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Summer<\/a> By Lena Katz<\/em><\/p>\n

From sea to shining sea, America\u2019s getting ready to celebrate all that tastes great this summer. Whether you\u2019re in the market for a Hawaii vacation<\/a><\/strong>, an East Coast summer home or a quick family-friendly hop to a Tampa hotel<\/a><\/strong>, an awesome array of food festivals will add extra flavor to your holiday. Here are my top 10 picks for 2009.<\/p>\n

In the Pacific Northwest, Bite of Oregon<\/a> August 7-9<\/strong> showcases organic\/sustainable produce, great seafood, and craft beer<\/strong> — the latter in the brand-new Oregon Brewed Craft  Beer Garden. And may we just say\u2026it\u2019s about time? Oenophiles note, Oregon\u2019s Willamette Valley wine region may well be the wine snobs\u2019 next \u201cit\u201d place — so don\u2019t just sip, take notes!<\/p>\n

Down south, the LA Wine Fest<\/a> June 6-7<\/strong> showcases primarily California Central Coast and Napa wineries<\/strong>, with contingents from the Loire Valley and Australia, as well as a number of boutique-label tequilas<\/strong>. In keeping with Los Angeles \u201cget ready for your closeup\u201d mentality, the festival includes \u201clifestyles\u201d vendors like Italian gastronomy site AcademiaBarilla.com<\/a>, but very little in the way of actual food.<\/p>\n

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\"Chicago<\/a> Hop off the coast several hundred miles west, and you\u2019ll float into Maui\u2019s legendary Kapalua Wine & Food Festival<\/strong>, an expensive and sophisticated annual extravaganza with a four-day (June 11-14<\/strong>) schedule of cleverly themed tastings, dinners and events<\/strong> (Psycho Pinots, Fred Dame\u2019s Rare Wines Dinner). Most events are individually ticketed, though four-day passes are available.<\/p>\n

Come June 19-21<\/strong>, every food snob worth his United Mileage Plus awards will jet-set into Colorado for the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen<\/a><\/strong>. This event is as up-market as Kapalua but much higher-profile, with celebrity guest participants like Bobby Flay and Giada de Laurentis<\/strong>. It\u2019s also much bigger, with 5,000 guests and a packed event schedule. No individual event passes, but the $250 day passes cost about the same as a single-event ticket at Kapalua.<\/p>\n

On the flip side of the foodie spectrum, LA Feria del Hongo<\/a> in San Juanito, Mexico,<\/strong> is an obscure localfood festival featuring not a splashy media campaign and celeb chefs, but instead delicious food and educational displays — featuring more than 100 kinds of mushrooms<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

When it comes to worldclass food, Midwestern destinations tend to get overlooked — but not in the Windy City. Here, Chicago hotel<\/a><\/strong> rooms are sure to book out fast for the time period of June 26 to July 5<\/strong>, when the annual Taste of Chicago<\/a><\/strong> turns Grant Park into a giant grazing ground. More than 70 participating restaurants<\/strong> serve up tastes by theticket — or rather, by multiple tickets depending on the item, but nothing costs more than about $10. Admission is free, as is the entertainment\u2026but be forewarned, this is not an event for the claustrophobic among us. It is, in fact, the biggest food festival in the world.<\/p>\n

On the East Coast, we look even further north than US borders, to the rollicking French-Canadian capital  of Montreal. Summer brings countless celebrations to this city, but the Mondial Gourmand<\/a><\/strong> held August 21-31<\/strong> is the one that foodies have marked on their calendar. After paying a nominal $5 entry fee, guests nibble foie gras, ceviche, kangaroo, bison and other exotic dishes at approximately 100 booths<\/strong>. Pay by the ticket. It goes without saying that beer, wine and other libations will be available.<\/p>\n

\"Hawaii-vacation\"<\/a> Just south across the US\/Canada border, the Maine Lobster Fest<\/a><\/strong> celebrates its 62nd year of summertime crustacean traditions. This family-friendly festival <\/strong>includes an art exhibit, a cooking contest, a carnival and live entertainment\u2026but nothing can beat the allure of the Main Eating Tent, where more than 20,000 pounds of lobster<\/strong> will be consumed in four days. Pack a bib in your carry-on and head to the Maine seaside from July 29-August 2<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Tampa trips are popular this year — ranking nearly up there with Orlando vacations and Miami getaways — which is why we\u2019re dropping in WaZoo<\/strong>, an annual Tampa beer festival<\/strong> that draws surprisingly large crowds in spite of being located in a zoo. Now in its 14th year, this evening benefit is one of Lowry Park Zoo<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s biggest moneymakers, drawing thousands of people and featuring 200+ beers plus food, wine and live entertainment. Tickets for the August 1<\/strong> event go on sale at lowryparkzoo.com<\/a> in July.<\/p>\n

And for the final stop, I recommend a quick trip off the mainland once again, for the Puerto Rico Food & Wine Festival <\/a>on August 28-29<\/strong>. Critics laud this event, which has a strong educational element — both in the chef demonstrations and the wine program<\/strong> — to balance out the \u201cindulge, imbibe, over-serve\u201d vibe that can sometimes take over food festivals. Celeb guest chefs, sizzling offerings from fave local restaurants, and a Caribbean yet no-passport-required setting make this a winner all around.<\/p>\n

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