A food festival is a festival, usually held annually, that uses food, often produce, as its central theme. These festivals have always been a means of uniting communities through celebrations of harvests and giving thanks for a plentiful growing season. They can be traced back thousands of years to celebrating the arrival of harvest time, the autumnal equinox, and the honoring of earth gods. Some food festivals are also harvest festivals. Note this list includes festivals focused on beverages, such as wine festivals and beer festivals, as well.
See List of food festivals in Canada.
There are several Florida food festivals and New Jersey food festivals. Other festivals include the Gilroy Garlic Festival in Gilroy, California; Brentwood Cornfest in Brentwood, California; Mushroom Festivals in various locales; the Castroville Artichoke Festival, in Castroville, California; the Stockton Asparagus Festival, in ; the ¡Latin Food Festival! in San Diego, California; the Lexington Barbecue Festival in North Carolina; the Posen Potato Festival, in Posen, Michigan; the Norwalk Oyster Festival, in Norwalk, Connecticut, Vaisakhi Festival at Yuba City, and the Howell Melon Festival in Howell, Michigan, known for electing the Howell Melon Queen.