10 Best Food Festivals in Spring

March 23

Jacksonville Beach fills up at the end of March as festival-goers listen to live music, watch a surfing contest and chow down on fresh seafood at the Great Atlantic Seafood & Music Festival.

March 24

This San Francisco spring food fest is all about chocolate, 55,000 square feet of it. More than 40 master chocolatiers, candy makers and vintners will be in attendance to guide attendees through chocolate tastings, workshops and celebrity chef talks. Don't miss the chocolate art gallery.

April 3-6

If you're not quite ready to let go of winter, you're in luck! Taste of Vail serves up Vail's best food and the country's best wine with the stunning -- and snowy -- Colorado mountains in the background. Signature events include a Colorado Lamb Cook Off, Restaurant Night, Mountain Top Picnic and a Grand Tasting.

April 9-14

During the six-day Scottsdale Culinary Festival, 100 restaurants, 30 chefs and 20 wineries participate in 10 separate events throughout Scottsdale. Enjoy sunshine and live music at the Great Arizona Picnic, explore the latest cooking trends at the Epicurean Expo and vote for your favorite burger at Burger Battle.

April 10-14

Blowing Rock, NC's annual wine and food event showcases vintages from the region's best wineries, with plenty of tasting dinners, cooking seminars, a battle of the chefs and an outdoor BBQ in downtown Blowing Rock rounding out the event lineup.

April 27

If you're a cheese lover, you shouldn't miss Wisconsin's signature food festival, the Between the Bluffs Beer, Wine and Cheese Festival. Besides copious amounts of cheese, there will be more than 200 craft beers and over 40 wines from local and international vintners.

May 9-12

Each year, Bon Appetit magazine presents one of the country's largest food events, Vegas Uncork'd. Celebrity chefs, master mixologists and expert sommeliers will be in attendance at the dozens of events making up the Las Vegas festival, including Bobby Flay, Nobu Matsuhisa and Gordon Ramsey.

May 18-19

Each May, the country's oldest outdoor market celebrates all things Italian at the South 9th Street Italian Market Festival in Philadelphia. After the annual Procession of Saints kicks things off, attendees can enjoy live music on three stages while they munch on any and every Italian delicacy imaginable.

May 22-25

For more than 20 years, the New Orleans Wine & Food Experience has been raising money for local charities while showcasing the best local and international foods and wines. This year looks to be no different, and you can expect more than 1,000 wine varieties and dinners at some of the Big Easy's best restaurants.

May 23-26

Each year on Memorial Day Weekend, downtown Shreveport hosts one of the biggest Cajun food festivals in the country, Mudbug Madness. Boiled crawfish, fried crawfish, crawfish po-boys and crawfish etouffée will all be on the menu, and if you've really hungry, you can participate in a crawfish eating contest. Live jazz, blues and zydeco tunes will keep the party going.