Meet The Team / Jose Ralat Maldonado

Spring has sprung and with it a slew of festivals that even April showers can't hinder. Among the best this month are an Appalachian mushroom festival, a firey eating contest, and a celebration of beer and cheese.

Beer, Bourbon & BBQ, Cary, NC, April 5-6: Pig pickings are a culinary rite of passage in the Carolinas, and this traveling festival is bringing one to the Triangle area. Admission gets attendees a souvenir glass, unlimited tastings of the more than 60 beers and 40 bourbons as well as BBQ not restricted to pulled pork. There will be briskets, ribs, sausages and more. For those interested in a 'cue education, there will be seminars and lectures. The only thing missing to perfect the fete would be bluegrass acts and eating contests. Oh, wait! There's will be those, too!

Pear Blossom Festival, Medford, Ore., April 8-9: This festival, now in its 58th year, includes Pear-A-Fare, the opening event that pairs food and beverages from local artisans. Also part of the celebration is Dare-To-Pear, for which the public may visit downtown business to sample pear recipes paired with local wines. Square dancers, a race, a ballroom dancing competition, and a stamp show round out the weekend.

Prairie Dog Chili Cookoff, Grand Prairie, Tex., April 9: While this 36th annual competition is ostensibly centered around the Lone Star State's official dish, the real draw is the jalapeño-soaked pickled quail egg eating contest. This insanity involves consuming as many fireballs as one can in 60 seconds. It's a must-see if you're in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

St. Patrick's Day festivities might be at the forefront of everyone's mind, but March's edible extravaganzas have much more to offer than green beer.

National Truffle Fest, Asheville, NC, March 3-6: The truffle is a prized ingredient that comes with a hefty price tag -- a plate garnished with a few shavings can fetch sums in the triple digits. So perhaps it's not surprising that an all-access ticket to this weekend event celebrating the U.S. truffle industry is $500. The festival, which will include seminars, lectures and a blow-out gala, will benefit the Frankie Lemmon School for preschool children with special needs.

Florida Strawberry Festival, Plant City, Fla., March 3-13: The Sunshine State produces more than holiday citrus baskets, tourist traps and sunburns -- Florida's strawberry crop is one of late winter's greatest pleasures. At this Central Florida fair, you'll find thousands of baskets of strawberries in addition to fruit-themed arts and crafts. A midway and carnival rides round out the berry merrymaking.

Parke County Maple Syrup Fair, Parke County, Ind., March 5-6: It might have the best marketing, but Vermont isn't the only state in the union that produces maple syrup. In an area of Indiana known for its covered bridges, visitors can tour maple syrup camps, learn how the topping goes from tree to table and sample the sweet stuff.

While winter has most of the country in a deep-freeze, there are still plenty of great food festivals about to take place, from the cold-hardy states of Ohio and Montana to the balmy Florida Everglades.

Everglades Seafood Festival, Everglades City, Fla., Feb. 4-6: This three-day event brings area residents and seafood lovers together for what is essentially a county fair of crustaceans, be they grilled, fried or baked. But it's not just the lobster and stone crab that has 50,000 people clawing for a seat. Country music shows keep the party going strong.

Holtville Carrot Festival, Holtville, Calif., Feb. 4-13: At the Carrot Capital of the World's 64th annual fiesta, all things orange kicks off with the crowning of the Carrot Festival Queen and her court, followed by days of carrot-themed meals and cooking contests for all age groups. Carrot bread, carrot cake, carrot salad and a carrot parade are on deck. However, no word about a Carrot Top appearance.

AleFest Columbus, Columbus, OH, Feb. 5: The Buckeye State produces some mighty fine brews. In its fifth year, AleFest Columbus will serve up more than 180 beers -- including cask -- from more than 70 breweries worldwide. There will also be a cheese-sampling event, a silent auction and a commemorative sampling glass.

The launch of 2011 promises food festivals that will satisfy your chocolate cravings, take you to the heart of southern cooking, and expand the meaning of what a Dutch oven can do (and that's just the beginning). If these food gatherings are a sign of things to come, the year in edibles is off to a great start.

Blackberry Farm: Taste of the South, Walland, Tenn., Jan. 6-8: The Southern Foodways Alliance has helped bring the food culture of the South way above and beyond the boundaries of Dixie. Yes, there's soul food. But there's also the oral history of Vietnamese fisherman in Biloxi. Taste of the South, held in concert with the spectacular Blackberry Farm, will shine the spotlight on the artisans, chefs and farmers who have contributed to the richness of the South and its culture of comestibles, at a Gala Dinner and silent auction.

Big Beers, Belgians and Barleywine Festival, Vail, Colo., Jan. 6-8: Aside from a tasting event, where a wide variety of international styles will be available for sampling, this 11th annual event will host seminars, such as the Experimental and Featured Brewmasters' sessions, and a beer-pairing dinner. Participants will also have the opportunity to show off their skills with hops and malt in the homebrewing competition. We'll drink to that.

Mesquite Open Dutch Oven Cook-Off, Mesquite, Nev., Jan. 7-8: Fill up on hearty fare made in a cook's tool you may have neglected: the Dutch oven. With a total of five grand in prizes and a ticket to the International Dutch Oven Society's World Championship Cook-Off on the line, this meet-up (held at the Casa Blanca Resort and Spa) attracts cooks who can whip up food that's far from ordinary.

There's no hunkering down for the winter for people who love food festivals. This month, you can catch strong libations, hot tamales, food fit for tony snowbirds, cookies worthy of a Christmas carol, and a New Year's Eve in a pickle.

Annual Holiday Ale Festival, Portland, Ore., Dec. 1-5: This sudsy soirée bills itself as the best beer-tasting event at which to cure the brrrs. With more than 50 beers offered this year -- among them Hopworks Urban Brewery Kentucky Christmas, a hometown strong ale -- things are sure to get merry around Pioneer Courthouse Square. On Sunday, Dec. 5, the 7th annual Beer and Brunch private event will include four exclusive brews not available during the rest of the festival.

Indio International Tamale Festival, Indio, Calif, Dec. 4-5: The tamale is a celebratory food, owing in part to its complicated production, one that families have mastered best. Since 1992, the city of Indio and its merchants have been feteing this Mexican food for feasts with a mariachi soundtrack. Make tracks for the best of the best tamales, an eating contest, folk dancers and carny attractions at what the Food Network calls one of the top-10 "All American Food Festivals."

Palm Beach Food and Wine Festival, Palm Beach, Fla., Dec. 7: South Florida residents and snowbirds aren't rubbing their beautiful climate in our faces They're just taking advantage of a good thing. This one-day event features participants and sponsors from the Sunshine State's favorite grocery, Publix; to the Four Seasons Resort Palm Beach; Rocco's Tacos and Tequila Bar; and Four Roses bourbon as well as local celebrity chef Michelle Bernstein. Local master sommeliers, like Virginia Philip of The Breakers Palm Beach, will also be on hand for special presentations.