By now, we hope you’ve put a substantial dent in the Thanksgiving leftovers and are ready to move on for a couple more weeks until the Christmastime food festival drought starts. Until then, there will be warming beers, warm cookies and warm entertainment keeping the spirit alive. Indio International Tamale Festival, Indio, Calif., Dec. 1-2:Read more »

As the temperatures aim for sweater weather, the possibility of sleeping with open windows and sipping from a warm bowl of freshly made pumpkin soup increase. But first try a bushel of apples and maybe some fried food — October is most definitely a month of mouth-stuffing fall fun. Kentucky Apple Festival, Paintsville, Ky., Oct. 5-6:Read more »

It’s beginning to cool — at least it should be — from coast to coast. And we don’t just mean temperatures — this month’s food festivals are some of the coolest around. Ayden Collard Festival, Ayden, N.C., Sept. 6–9: The world is stuffed with bitter greens, but none is more dear to Southerners than theRead more »

August is about as hot as it gets each year, in terms of the temperature and the good-eats celebrations. It’s especially true for the hauls of seafood, corn and blueberry festivals this month. Below are our pick of the pecks. Maine Lobster Festival, Rockland, Maine, Aug. 1–5: Vacationland is booming, fueled by bountiful catches ofRead more »

The seasonal climb to triple-digit temperatures nationwide has begun. Whether you’d like to cool down or heat things up this month, there is a food festival for everyone in July. Greater Mandeville Seafood Festival, Mandeville, La., July 4-8: Dive into summer and Independence Day with this five-day party on the shore of Lake Pontchartrain. TheyRead more »

As the mercury begins to climb, it’s time to find entertaining ways to beat the heat. From ice cream to watermelons, both of which instantly soothe, June is cool. Georgia Peach Festival, Fort Valley, Ga., June 1-9: There is nothing more Georgian than the peach, the fuzzy fruit whose name adorns myriad street signs inRead more »

For some, April — like T.S. Eliot notes in The Waste Land and the seasonal severe weather shows — is the cruelest month. Those poor folks would change their tune if they could partake in any of the pabulum parties below. This month’s culinary treasures are sweet, spicy and creamy. Tater Day, Benton, Ky., April 2: WhileRead more »

As late winter looks toward spring, this month’s food festivals head outdoors, to the woods and to the shore for sugar highs, creamy mirth and moveable feasts. Florida Strawberry Festival, Plant City, Fla., March 1–11: The state fair has nothing on the Sunshine State’s Strawberry Festival. The sweet bonanza of fruit-related diversion and traditional food-fairRead more »

Even if one is stuck in the Great White North, February is still a fiery month for food festivals. Tropical Wine Festival, Des Moines, Iowa, Feb. 3: Iowa is more than a crucial battleground in presidential politics, it’s a fertile land for oenophiles with a sense of humor when it comes to clothing — we’reRead more »

Welcome to January 2012. It’s cold in some parts of the country, so most of the celebrations on our foodways are indoors and focused on staving off hypothermia — mostly with drink. Cheers to a new year and new ways to relish that which sustains our bodies and our minds. Big Beers Festival, Vail, Colo., Jan.Read more »