Philadelphia Celebrates Its Region's World-Class Food And Drink With 34 Culinary Festivals In 2018

2018 Promises Amazing Food And Drink Events In And Beyond Philadelphia

  

The Mushroom Festival in Chester County’s Kennett Square (left) and Flavors of the Avenue on South Philly’s buzzing East Passyunk Avenue (right) are just two festivals visitors and locals can enjoy in 2018.

Credit: Photos by G. Widman (left) and C. Smyth (right) for VISIT PHILADELPHIA^®

                    

PHILADELPHIA – Dining out is one of the best ways to get to know a region, and Philadelphia delivers its culinary education in a delicious buffet. Foodies who hit the road (or railroad) to Philly are rewarded with farmers markets, insider food tours and tasting experiences such as food truck festivals, neighborhood food fests, cooking classes and all sorts of wine and beer celebrations.

Here’s a look at some of the region’s 2018 culinary happenings:

January:

• Each January and September, the ten-day Center City District Restaurant Week gives diners nearly endless opportunities to sample three courses at dozens of the city’s top eateries for just $35 for dinner and $20 for lunch, where available (tax, alcohol and gratuity not included). January 14-26; September dates to be announced. Center City, centercityphila.org

February:

• Diners can experience South Philly’s most sought-after dishes and settings at East Passyunk’s Restaurant Week. Three-course prix fixe lunches and dinners are available (tax, alcohol and gratuity not included) at more than 24 different restaurants, including Fond, Noord, Perla, Townsend and Will and the bargain price of $15-$35. February 26-March 9. East Passyunk, eastpassyunkrestaurantweek.com

March:

• A yearly sellout that Forbes Traveler called “One of The Top 10 Beer Festivals in America,” the 12^th annual Philly Craft Beer Festival temporarily installs more than 50 of the country’s best breweries in South Philly’s Navy Yard. March 3. 5100 S. Broad Street, phillycraftbeerfest.com

• More than 60 esteemed restaurants and bars, from a.kitchen to Zavino, participate in the eight-day, 200-plus-event Philly Wine Week, a draw for both oenophiles and vino neophytes featuring tastings, pairings, specials and more—all educational, naturally. March 22-29.phillywineweek.org

April:

• South Philly’s buzzing East Passyunk Avenue celebrates its culinary spirit in Flavors of the Avenue. More than two dozen of the neighborhood’s most popular restaurants and bars gather to dish out their goods, while bands, a fashion show and a craft market entertain outside. April 29. Avenue between Dickinson & Morris Streets, (215) 336-1455, visiteastpassyunk.com
• Fair Food and Kitchen Table Consultants launched Philly Farm and Food Fest as a way to connect growers and eaters in the region—and to promote healthy eating. The resulting event, held in the Pennsylvania Convention Center, brims with local deliciousness, dedicating areas of the floor to cheese, drinks, CSAs, cooking demos, cookbooks and more. Dates to be announced. 1101 Arch Street, phillyfarmfest.org

May:

• Philadelphia magazine sponsors and Lincoln Financial Field’s SCA Club hosts the annual Philadelphia magazine’s Wine Festival. The event gathers more than 650 hard-to-find vintages and rare blends, paired with fare from some of the city’s most prestigious restaurants. May 3. 1020 Pattison Avenue, phillymag.com
• May through October,this street festival unites Philly’s top mobile food purveyors with its most enthusiastic eaters. Night Market Philadelphia highlights a different neighborhood during each event (typically four per year), with live music and entertainment. Locations and dates to be announced. thefoodtrust.org

• Brauhaus Schmitz and the South Street Headhouse District close South Street to car traffic from Headhouse Square to 8^th Street to create the annual springtime street fair, Maifest. Some 15,000 revelers sample German beers and shop from street vendors, and German dancers perform the traditional Maypole dance. May 5. (267) 909-8814, brauhausschmitz.com
• Everyone’s Italian when the nation’s oldest outdoor market throws the annual South 9^th Street Italian Market Festival. Multiple stages of live entertainment provide the soundtrack for the neighborhood-wide party featuring Italian, Mexican and Vietnamese delicacies made by the market’s merchants—and a greased pole-climbing contest. May 19-20. 9^th Street & Washington Avenue, (215) 278-2903, italianmarketphilly.org
• Berry fans sample pies, tarts, shortcake, jams and preserves at Peddler’s Village annual Strawberry Festival. Strawberries of all sorts, live entertainment and pie-eating contests are some of the festivities at this free annual Bucks County event. May 19-20. Routes 202 & 263, Lahaska, (215) 794-4000, peddlersvillage.com

June:

• The aromas of African, Caribbean and soul foods fill the air at Odunde, the East Coast’s largest African-American street festival. Live performances and art vendors span 12 city blocks, and include merchants and makers of fried fish, big drinks, corn on the cob and much more. June 10. Grays Ferry Avenue & South Street, (215) 732-8510, odundefestival.org
• A highlight of Philadelphia’s 10-day Wawa Welcome America! July 4 festival, Wawa Hoagie Day offers the hungry lunch-goers slices of a block-long, six-ton sandwich on Independence Mall. June 28.  Independence Visitor Center, 6^th & Market Streets, welcomeamerica.com
• Comprised of an Irish, African, Caribbean, Mexican and more cultural celebrations, the PECO Energy Multicultural Festival, asummertime Penn’s Landing tradition, honors global music, dancing, crafts, pride—and food. Dates to be announced. 121 N. Columbus Boulevard, (215) 922-2FUN, delawareriverwaterfront.com
• Linvilla Orchards, a 300-acre Delaware County farm dedicated to agriculture, entertainment and education celebrates strawberries and raspberries (June), blueberries, sweet corn and blackberries (July), peaches, tomatoes and pears (August), apples (September) and pumpkins (October). These festivals include pick-your-own activities, family games, hayrides, music and plenty of treats—read: pies—to sample. 137 W. Knowlton Road, Media, (610) 876-7116, linvilla.com

July:

• Live country and bluegrass music and berries combine for a weekend-long midsummer celebration at Peddler’s Village’s Bluegrass and Blueberries Festival in lovely Bucks County. July 14-15. Routes 202 & 263, Lahaska, (215) 794-4000, peddlersvillage.com
• Over 30 eclectic neighborhood restaurants take part in University City Dining Days, a three-course, three-price dinner promo featuring $15, $25 or $35 meals (not including tax, alcohol or gratuity).Dates to be announced. University City, universitycity.org/diningdays

August:

• Fairmount Park starts to resemble the islands during the Philadelphia Jerk Fest. Tickets to this one-day summer festival include Caribbean food, live reggae music, vendors and children’s activities. Dates to be announced. philadelphiajerkfest.com

September:

• The Philadelphia Beekeepers Guild presents the three-day Philadelphia Honey Festival that attracts thousands of participants to multiple venues, including Bartram’s Garden, Wyck Historic House and Glen Foerd on the Delaware. Activities include beekeeping demos, speakers, brewing sessions, honey extraction, cooking demos, children’s activities—and vendors with plenty of sweet take-homes. September 7-9.phillyhoneyfest.com
• More than 100,000 fungus fans participate the Mushroom Festival in Chester County’s Kennett Square, the nation’s mushroom-growing capital. The 33^rd-such weekend features tastings, cooking demos, cook-offs, farm tours, a 5K, nighttime parade and wine-and-soup mini-fest—all ’shroom-centric. September 8-9. S. Union Street & W. State Street, (610) 925-3373, mushroomfestival.org

• Center City District Restaurant Week reprisesthe January event with three courses at dozens of the city’s top eateries cost just $35 for dinner and $20 for lunch, where available (tax, alcohol and gratuity not included). Dates to be announced. Center City, centercityphila.org

• The Cheesesteak & Food Fest at Citizen’s Bank Park gives attendees chances to sample the wares of over 40 cheesesteak and Philly food vendors, hang out in a beer garden and the Phillies’ dugout, walk the bases and watch a cheesesteak-eating competition. Dates to be announced. One Citizens Bank Way, cheesesteakfest.com
• The Fringe Festival always begins with FEASTIVAL, an elegant and popular live arts-culinary arts combination of food, cocktails and performance. Date to be announced. phillyfeastival.com
• Manayunk’s Restaurant Week always begin with the Spring STREAT Food Festival, where vendors and food trucks join Main Street’s lineup of restaurants for an all-day eat fest. During the neighborhood’s ensuing Restaurant Week, brick-and-mortar eateries offer multicourse prix fixe menus for $15, $25 and $35. Dates to be announced.  Main Street, Manayunk, manayunk.com
• The alfresco South Philly bash known as Sausage Fest teams up neighborhood restaurants and local breweries to dish out sausage-inspired eats (including veggie options), while kids’ activities, craft vendors and a lineup of local music keeps the atmosphere fun and festive. Dates to be announced. W. Passyunk Avenue, between Broad & S. 15^th Streets, southphillysausagefest.com

October:

• Bloktoberfest, West South Street’sall-ages, all-afternoon autumnal festival, is a celebration of beer, food and music. Gourmet trucks set up shop, national craft brewers pour their wares, local bands play tunes, and festivalgoers take it easy on hay bales that stretch along four blocks. Date to be announced. (215) 732-8446, bloktoberfestphilly.com
• Fair Food, an organization that promotes local, sustainable eating, has as its marquee fundraiser the Brewer’s Plate, a beer-pairing dinner featuring the output of the most celebrated breweries and restaurants within 150 miles of Philadelphia. More than 1,000 guests head to the Kimmel Center for the epic meal. Date to be announced. 300 S. Broad Street, brewersplate.com
• With a focus on ciders and other fermented fruit beverages, Pour the Core Philly sets the stage for autumnal drinking at the Navy Yard. Participants sample local, national and international brews, learn all about the fermentation process, listen to live music and enjoy delicious food truck snacks. Dates to be announced. 4747 S. Broad Street, pourthecore.com
• The onetime beer-brewingest city in the Western Hemisphere does Oktoberfest right with German volkfests and pop-up beer fests throughout the fall. South Street’s Brauhaus Schmitz’s German block party features 2,000 pounds of sausage—and just as much oompah music. The Philadelphia Zoo’s OktoBEARfest serves unlimited samples of seasonal fall brews and ciders. Uptown Beer Garden serves local and imported lager and German fare at their two-day event. Fishtown’s Frankford Hall hosts a night full of Bavarian beer, German food and live music and the historic 23^rd Street Armory turns into a traditional biergarten for a weekend. All dates to be announced. Brauhaus Schmitz, 718 South Street, (267) 909-8814, brauhausschmitz.com; Philadelphia Zoo, 3400 W. Girard Avenue, (215) 243-1100, philadelphiazoo.org; Uptown Beer Garden, 1735 JFK Boulevard, facebook.com/UptownBeerGarden/; Frankford Hall, 1210 Frankford Avenue, (215) 634-3338, frankfordhall.com; 23^rd Street Armory, 22 S. 23^rd Street, (215) 564-1488, 23rdstreetarmory.com

November:

• Apple lovers get their fill at Peddler’s Village annual Apple Festival. The two-day festival features apple butter, cider, dumplings and fritters, as well as a juried craft show, live entertainment and pie-eating contests. November 3-4. Routes 202 & 263, Lahaska, (215) 794-4000, peddlersvillage.com
• The Bucks County Wine Trail’s Nouveau Release Weekend gives wine drinkers a sneak preview of the year’s freshest wines. The trail’s Holiday Celebration highlights the wines in an environment filled with holiday cheer. Nouveau release, date to be announced; Holiday Celebration, date to be announced. buckscountywinetrail.com
• The Great Harvest Cider and Beer Festival outsideHawthornes Biercafé has 75 hard ciders, toasty lagers, pumpkin ales, barrel-aged rarities, wine, cafe fare, Undrgrnd Donuts, live music and a kids’ zone. Date to be announced. 738 S. 11^th Street, (215) 627-3012, hawthornecafe.com

December:

• The NYC-based Coffee and Tea Festival brings its hipbuzz to the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center with exhibitors, experts, tastings, gift bags and more. Dates to be announced. 100 Station Avenue, Phoenixville, coffeeandteafestival.com
• The auditorium of the Gershman Y invites hundreds to partake in the 16^th annual Latkepalooza: a celebration of the potato pancake, as created by 10 esteemed Philly restaurants. Date to be announced. 401 S. Broad Street, (215) 545-4400, gershmany.org

VISIT PHILADELPHIA^® is our name and our mission. As the region’s official tourism marketing agency, we build Greater Philadelphia’s image, drive visitation and boost the economy.

On Greater Philadelphia’s official visitor website and blog, visitphilly.com and uwishunu.com, visitors can explore things to do, upcoming events, themed itineraries and hotel packages. Compelling photography and videos, interactive maps and detailed visitor information make the sites effective trip-planning tools. Along with Visit Philly social media channels, the online platforms communicate directly with consumers. Travelers can also call and stop into the Independence Visitor Center for additional information and tickets.