Fall Food Festivals

As late summer approaches, it’s a good bet that thoughts of the long winter ahead are starting to creep around the edges of your consciousness.

Why not postpone the inevitable by prolonging the summer?  A great way to accomplish this is to plan a getaway for a quick weekend jaunt to a food and wine festival.  There are plenty to choose from at this directory, but here’s a list of places that would cause me to drop everything and head on down:

• August 28 & 29: San Juan, Puerto Rico.  The Puerto Rico Wine & Food Fest offers a jam-packed schedule of cooking demonstrations and plenty of native cuisine to try.

• September 18-20: Greenville, South Carolina.  Euphoria attracts big-name Food Network chefs: Tyler Florence showed up in 2008, and this year, Guy Savoy will pay a visit.
  

  Euphoria Food Festival

• September 25-27: Redondo Beach California.  The 14th Annual Dive N’ Surf Lobster Festival offers fresh Maine lobsters, live music, professional wakeboarding demonstrations, even beachwear fashion shows.

• September 25-27: Las Cruces, New Mexico.  The Whole Enchilada Fiesta, provides a three-day celebration of southern New Mexico’s traditions, people and — of course — more enchiladas than you can shake a stick at.

• October 8-11: Gulf Shores, Alabama.  The 38th Annual National Shrimp Festival, offers everything from a 10K run to over 300 vendors and plenty of live music on two stages.

• November 6-8: Jupiter, Florida.  The Feast of Little Italy bills itself as a cultural journey jam-packed with authentic Italian food, music, art and culture.

• November 18-22: San Diego, California.  At the San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival you’ll find more than 170 wineries, breweries and spirit producers, as well as samplings from 70 area restaurants.  Check out the cooking classes, wine tastings, and the olive oil competition.

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2. Retro Food Shrines
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