Best Specialty Food Festival (2020)

Picklesburgh bills itself “The Destination for All Things Pickled” for one weekend each July. Pittsburgh’s Roberto Clemente Bridge transforms into Picklesburgh, complete with a giant flying Heinz pickle balloon. Attendees can expect an assortment of foods and cocktails that feature pickled ingredients, as well as live demos and pickle merchandise.
Photo courtesy of Picklesburgh

This three-day event in Chicago combines two things we love: live music and great barbecue. Twenty of the world’s best pitmasters serve up their smoked morsels, while top country music talent takes the stage. Headliners in 2020 include Darius Rucker, Dierks Bentley and Jon Pardi.
Photo courtesy of Windy City Smokeout

Northern Michigan's biggest annual event, the National Cherry Festival in Traverse City, welcomes more than half a million people each July to celebrate all things cherry. Alongside cherry edibles, festival goers will find a host of family-friendly entertainment and activities, including a parade, volleyball tournament, air show and live music on the bay.
Photo courtesy of Gary Ennis / National Cherry Festival

The world’s most prestigious gelato tournament takes place across numerous festivals around the globe, including several in the United States. Festival attendees can taste all the flavors offered and vote for their favorite. The gelato chef that wins the most votes at each event continues on to the Gelato Festival World Masters.
Photo courtesy of Gelato Festival America

The Oregon Truffle Festival celebrates the abundance of native culinary truffles that grown in the Willamette Valley. Truffle lovers from around the globe come to explore this rare and tasty ingredient through dinners, wine pairing classes, foraging workshops and other events held throughout Yamhill County.
Photo courtesy of Kathryn Elsesser / Oregon Truffle Festival

This festival celebrates two of our favorite things, bacon and craft beer. As the festival moves across the country – upcoming events are taking place in New York, Seattle and Denver – foodies get to sample beers from local breweries and taste bacon-centric dishes from innovative chefs.
Photo courtesy of Bacon and Beer Classic

Things get spicy in Houston during the annual Tamale Festival in December, where the city’s top chefs dish up their best takes on tamales. Other events include live music, ballet folklorico performances, a tamale eating contest and the coveted award for Best Tamales in Houston.
Photo courtesy of iStock / Steffi Victorioso

This Pacific Northwest food festival celebrates two beloved foods, cheese and meat. Attendees are given a charcuterie board and tasting glass for two-hour tasting sessions featuring artisan meats, cheeses, pickles, breads and beverages from around the region and the world. The event takes place in Seattle, Vancouver and Victoria.
Photo courtesy of Matt Love Photography / Cheese and Meat Festival

What started as a small crawfish festival in 1989 has crown into a three-day event featuring Cajun food and live Cajun, zydeco, Delta blues, gospel and jazz music on three stages. Culinary highlights include fresh boiled Louisiana crawfish, jambalaya, crawfish étouffée, alligator sausage and seafood poboys.
Photo courtesy of Paul S. Bartholomew Photography / Michael Arnone's Crawfish Fest

The first week in March brings the National Fiery Foods & Barbecue Show to Albuquerque. This "Hottest Show on Earth" brings together the nation's largest collection of hot sauces, salsas, marinades, mustards and pretty much anything else that can be infused with a healthy dose of capsaicin.
Photo courtesy of National Fiery Foods & Barbecue Show