Food festival

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.

Australia

• Bankstown Bites Food Festival

Canada

See list of Food Festivals in Canada.

Italy

• Asti's Festival of Festivals held in Asti in September.
• Battle of the Oranges is a traditional orange fight held in Ivrea each February.

Mexico

• Puerto Vallarta festival

Peru

• Mistura: Lima, Peru. Held annually since 2008, is the largest food festival in Latin America.

Spain

• La Tomatina - a tomato-throwing festival held in late August in Buñol.
• L’Aplec_del_Caragol - a snail-eating festival held in Lleida in May.

Switzerland

• The Räbechilbi turnip festival is held annually in September.
• A cheese festival is held in Gruyére in May.

United Kingdom

See List of Food Festivals (United Kingdom).

United States

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 Stockton, California; 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.

Increasingly, vegetarian food festivals are becoming some of the largest food celebrations in the country, including Vegfest in Salt Lake City, Utah, Seattle, Washington and San Francisco, California.