Interesting Food Festivals in South Carolina (& Around the World)

Videos

Garlic Showdown

see larger video

sourced by TDH

• 

  Created by TDH | add comment

• 

  Created by TDH | add comment

• 

  Created by TDH | add comment

• 

  Created by Huggingthecoast.Com | add comment

Photos

Gilroy Garlic Festival

see larger image

uploaded by willitrun

• 

  uploaded by willitrun | add comment

• 

  uploaded by christeli_sf | add comment

• 

  uploaded by soswhy | add comment

• 

  uploaded by soswhy | add comment

• 

  uploaded by jengilomen | add comment

• 

  uploaded by Huggingthecoast.Com | add comment

• 

  uploaded by Huggingthecoast.Com | add comment

• 

  uploaded by marymactavish | add comment

• 

  uploaded by PhotoAvatar | add comment

If you enjoy eating local food as well as meeting others that feel the same, then attending a regional food festival may be one of the best ways to both honor and explore the particular dishes and food traditions that have evolved in your area.

As we move closer to spring, now's the time to start planning which food festivals you might like to attend in 2009 while tickets are still available.

Food festivals range from the homegrown Gullah Festival in Beaufort, SC which honors and showcases the African culinary traditions of the Gullah people in coastal South Carolina to the annual Gilroy Garlic Festival in California, where more than 100,000 people gather together to celebrate the pleasures of the "stinking rose".

Food Festivals in South Carolina

Known for its food, natural beauty, climate, and historical charm, approximately 30 million visitors from all over the world come to South Carolina each year, according to the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism.

Part of the reason people come to SC is because of  the many food festivals held there each year, celebrating such regional favorites as pulled pork barbecue, buttery grits, peanuts, and local seafood (including local shrimp, oysters, crabs, catfish, and clams), as well as fresh peaches, watermelons, sweet potatoes, collard greens, and okra.

Two food events that take place annually in or near the Charleston, SC Area are:

• The Lowcountry Oyster Festival
  Featuring 65,000 pounds of oysters!
• The Charleston Food & Wine Festival
  Raises money for a variety of charitable organizations including scholarships to the Culinary Institute of Charleston, College of Charleston and the Art Institute of Charleston.

You can find out more about other culinary festivals and events happening in South Carolina here.

Beyond South Carolina: North American and International Food Festivals

• SmarterTravel.Com has a nice list of some of the best food festivals in North America here.
• Also, FoodReference.Com has a list of hundreds of food festivals which take place throughout the world.
• Want to enjoy festival style cooking at home? The Food Network has over 100 recipes from popular food festivals.
• Looking for food festivals featuring such bizarre foods as waxworms, turkey testicles, and roadkill? ForbesTraveler.Com has a disturbing list of unusual food events here.

--Doug DuCap/ HuggingtheCoast.Com