2008 PRESS RELEASES

February 28, 2008
VIRGINIA FOOD FESTIVALS OFFER ONE-STOP SHOPPING FOR LOCAL FOOD AND FUN
Contact: Elaine J. Lidholm, 804.786.7686

If buying locally was one of your New Year’s resolutions, the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) can help you keep your pledge year-round.  The 2008 Food Festivals Guide is now available online, and in it you’ll find a month-by-month guide to food festivals, feasts and other festive occasions this year.

Buying local products makes sense in so many ways.  The plethora of food festivals around the state means that every Virginian, and most of our tourists, can find an event to fill their stomachs and their shopping bags with a tremendous variety of Virginia Grown products.  From fruits and vegetables to seafood and meats, if it’s delicious and produced in Virginia, there is probably a festival to celebrate it.  In addition, a variety of themed events highlights many of the state’s special features, including apple blossoms, the taste of the mountains, 18th century market days and Virginia’s historic landmarks. Some festivals focus on one locally-grown product: cantaloupes, oysters, beef, apples, peaches, peanuts or wine. Others offer a wide variety of fresh and prepared products in one convenient location.

Here is a sampling of what’s in store for 2008.  In April alone, festivals feature shad, beef, herbs, wool, wine and apples; and the Spring Fling in Syria, Virginia adds arts and crafts, hayrides, horse rides and camping along with Virginia food and wines. May adds strawberries, seafood and ramps, also known as wild leeks. In June, you can eat all you want of three of Virginia’s most popular products, pork, chicken and dairy. June also features two festivals with a local take on other cuisines, Cajun and Texan.

Summer features include peanuts, peaches, blackberries, cantaloupe, tomatoes and sweet corn, while fall boasts apples, pumpkins, and chili cook-offs. The fun doesn’t end until November with the Oyster Roast in Reedville.

If those don’t tickle your taste buds, perhaps a flurry of festivals will entice you.  From Bay Days to Wine Week, the Fall Farm Fun Festival to Pork, Pine and Peanuts, festival-goers can fill almost every weekend and many weekdays with Virginia food festivals.  For even more opportunities to celebrate Virginia’s excellent food and beverages, click here to explore the schedule of Virginia winery festivals and special events.

If the food, fun and family bonding isn’t enough, here’s another plus for local food festivals – they’re close to home, saving energy and travel costs, and they support the local economy.  If gas prices are putting a damper on your vacation plans, choose a Virginia food festival as your destination and know that you’re not just having fun, you’re doing something good for Virginia.