Introduction to South Florida Food Festivals

The sweet perfume of chargrilled fruit and salt-licked barbecued meats hangs over South Florida with a nonstop parade of food festivals and cookouts all summer long.

Summer Food Festival Calendar

So overstuffed is our calendar of feasts that three beloved barbecue events — South Florida Wing Bash, Boca Burger Battle and the Annual Neighborhood Cookout: Smoke & Sunset — are all scheduled for the same day: July 12.
Other food-centric events include the Florida Mango Festival (June 29), Vegan Block Party (July 5), Saigon Night Market FoodieWorld (July 11-13), Riverwalk Tacos & Tequila Festival (July 19), Palm Beach Jamaica Independence Festival (Aug. 2).

Featured Food Festivals

Below, find details on these eight bashes happening this summer that are guaranteed to stretch your mouths as much as your waistlines.

FLORIDA MANGO FESTIVAL

10 a.m.-5 p.m. June 29 at Palm Beach County Convention Center, 650 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach; $15.39-$24.50 for general admission and free for children age 5 and younger; FloridaMangoFestival.com
If you’re the type of homeowner with mango trees in summertime, you know the periodic thud-thud-thuds on the ground and the sticky dilemma that follows: Cinch the ripest ones in Publix shopping bags and give them away, or race against the clock to eat them all? Dozens of small farms and nurseries will be on hand with tips on how to handle your blushing crop — or plant new tropical trees — during this indoor bash. The only air-conditioned respite from the summer swelter in this roundup, the festival will offer guided mango tastings, lectures for gardeners and an ID Your Mango booth.
Vegan Block Party / Courtesy
A plant-based burger is served at a recent Vegan Block Party. The event returns July 5 to Esplanade Park in Fort Lauderdale. (Vegan Block Party/Courtesy)

VEGAN BLOCK PARTY

3-9 p.m. July 5 at Esplanade Park, 400 SW Second St., Fort Lauderdale; $15.66-$24.80 for general admission and free for children age 10 and younger; VeganBlockParty.com
They have no beef, figuratively and literally, with the other bashes vying for attention on the cramped summer calendar, but they do have barbecue of the garden variety: mushroom steaks, smoked seitan burgers, plant-based wings. So far, 70-plus meatless purveyors are scheduled to sell barbecue, drinks, desserts and other treats against a backdrop of live DJs, art displays and bars. The ticket price includes admission only, although some vendors will serve free samples. The event will be preceded by a free Badass Run Club fun run, walk and after-party from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. July 4 at Uncommon Path Brewing (710 NW Fifth Ave., Fort Lauderdale), making this the only food festival to somehow include exercise.

Saigon Night Market FoodieWorld

2-10 p.m. July 11-13 at Quiet Waters Park, 401 S. Powerline Road, Deerfield Beach; $10-$12 for general admission; Instagram.com/SaigonNightMarket
This global street-food festival, touring Florida all summer long, will make a three-day pit-stop at Quiet Waters Park with 100-plus vendors touting Korean barbecue, pho, ramen, bao buns, spicy hot dogs, sizzling beef skewers and — you guessed it — fried squid on a stick. Find a dizzying assortment of pan-Asian desserts and snacks such as ube pastries, mochi doughnuts and tanghulu (a Chinese confection in which skewered fresh fruit is coated in melted sugar). There will also be live music, cultural performances, pho-eating contests for cash prizes, artisanal crafts and giveaways. General admission only includes entry, with food available for purchase.

John McCall/South Florida Sun Sentinel
Temple Kane, right, pours beer from the tap during a previous Boca Burger Battle, which will return July 12. (John McCall/South Florida Sun Sentinel file)

Boca Burger Battle

7-10 p.m. July 12 at Sanborn Square Park, 72 N. Federal Highway, Boca Raton; $71.30 for general admission, $91.88 for VIP (includes 6 p.m. early access); 561-338-7594; BocaBurgerBattle.com
At the 12th edition of this chill smoky throwdown, meat maestros from South Florida restaurants are set to cross grilling tongs: Yard House, Lazy Dog, Won-Tom’s, Drift bar and Sonrisa restaurant at Boca Raton Marriott at Boca Center, Marco’s Top Burgers, Maggie McFly’s, American Social, The Cove Waterfront Restaurant + Tiki Bar, Lucky Fish Pompano, Santana’s Kitchen & Cocktails and Sem Frescura Burgers & Fries. And, as usual, ticket holders get unlimited noshing and sloshing, with beer, wine and spirits provided by NOBO Brewing Co., Barrel of Monks Brewing, Hollywood Brewing Co., Prosperity Brewers and others. Six celebrity judges will pick the top-scoring burgers, while the public can vote for a People’s Choice winner. Be aware that food participants may change without notice.
Cheffrey Eats / Courtesy
Fan-favorite food truck Cheffrey Eats will bring its chicken wings to the annual South Florida Wing Bash in Boca Raton. (Cheffrey Eats/Courtesy)

South Florida Wing Bash

7-10 p.m. July 12 at South County Regional Park, 20405 Amphitheater Circle, Boca Raton; $59.99-$300 (VIP packages include 6 p.m. early access); SouthFloridaWingBash.com
A celebration of the many delicious preparations of poultry, this third annual chicken fight will once again roost with nine contenders (and growing) seeking wing supremacy, including Cheffrey Eats (whom Sun Sentinel readers recently crowned South Florida’s top food truck), Windy City Pizza, Brass Rooster Wing Factory and Hangry Joe’s Hot Chicken & Wings. Yes, it’s also a blind-tasting competition with judges, and ticket holders can vote for a People’s Choice winner when they’re not busy sampling unlimited wings, drinking unlimited beers and spirits, taking in live music or raiding the games area stocked with ax-throwing bays and a golf simulator.

Annual Neighborhood Cookout: Smoke & Sunset

5:30-8 p.m. July 12 at Civil Society Brewing Co., 425 Kanuga Drive, West Palm Beach; $35; EatTropical.com
What began three years ago as a mango sauce-sandwich marriage between Tropical Smokehouse and Celis Juice Bar has morphed into this low-key cookout with world-class ‘cue. It’s so low-key, in fact, that it’s aimed at locals living along the Dixie Highway drag south of downtown West Palm Beach, limits attendance to roughly 200 people and won’t open ticket sales until 10 a.m. July 1 — just long enough to not attract much attention. (Nonetheless, word of mouth has sold out the grassroots event two years running.) Still, despite aiming to keep things small-scale, the event is “open to everyone,” Tropical Smokehouse partner Jason Lakow says. This third edition moves the cookout to a bigger venue, Civil Society Brewing, where Tropical Smokehouse pitmaster Rick Mace will smoke a whole hog with libations and tasty servings from chefs behind Cholo Soy Cocina, Zipitios and Buccan Sandwich Shop. “We’re basically taking things that people like and putting them together, because collaboration makes the neighborhood better and brings joy to the community,” Lakow adds.
Alex Celis / Courtesy
Blackened chickens on the grill during the Annual Neighborhood Cookout: Smoke & Sunset, returning for its third edition on July 12 at Civil Society Brewing Co. in West Palm Beach. (Alex Celis/Courtesy)

Riverwalk Tacos & Tequila Festival

2-6 p.m. July 19 at Esplanade Park, 400 SW Second St., Fort Lauderdale; free admission; GoRiverwalk.com
Any day’s a good day for a taco throwdown, but a true battle for tortilla supremacy feels refreshing in all this heat. Thankfully, the taco-heads in charge of fun on Fort Lauderdale’s Riverwalk will bring birria, al pastor, carnitas and carna asada handhelds from vendors including Emily’s Garden, Tulum Taco Shop, Heavenly Churros, EO’s Tacos, Pinky’s Tacos and MozzArepas. This third annual edition will also have live DJ music, beer, premium tequila cocktails, margaritas and lawn games. Gate entry is free, but food and drink must be purchased separately from vendors.
Riverwalk Tacos & Tequila Festival / Courtesy
The Riverwalk Tacos & Tequila Festival will take place July 19 at Esplanade Park in Fort Lauderdale. (Riverwalk Tacos & Tequila Festival/Courtesy)

Palm Beach Jamaica Independence Festival

Noon-10 p.m. Aug. 2 at John Prince Park, 4759 S. Congress Ave., Lake Worth; $40-$80, free for kids younger than 12; PBJamminFest.com
A paradise of jerk awaits ticket holders at this daylong bash marking