"foodfestivals" news and stories

Can't make it to this weekend's Food Network's New York City Wine & Food Festival? Convinced that Slashfood can get a better peek at Guy Fieri's frosted tips and potential Paula Deen pants mishaps than you can?

Follow our every nibble, sip and celeb chef sighting via the handy widget above -- starting with tonight's Chelsea Market After Dark all the way through the Grand Tasting and Burger Bash to Sunday night's Meatball Madness with Giada De Laurentiis, or just follow us on Twitter as @slashfood.

Visit the New York City Wine & Food Festival's official site.

Photo: vegetarianfestival.jp.

There are loads of meat-this/meat-that festivals, but in honor of World Vegetarian Day, Slashfood would like to highlight international veggie gatherings.

Day Without Meat, Sao Paulo, Brazil, Oct. 3-4: To raise awareness for the benefits of a vegetarian/vegan diet, the Brazilian Vegetarian Society in partnership with Greenpeace, Instituto Nina Rosa and others will provide information on vegetarianism, screen films, hold workshops and offer food and wine tastings.

Barbecue ribs. Photo: biskuit, Flickr.

Oktoberfests are ubiquitous this month. For those not interested in the chug-a-thons and oompah bands, check out this list of alternative options.

Dixon Lambtown USA, Dixon, Calif., Oct. 3: Break out the mint jelly! Attendees can participate in such culinary slugfests as the National Lamb Ribs Eating Contest and Barbecue Cook-Off, not to mention a shearing competition and sheepdog trials. For the kiddies, there's Mutton Bustin' -- a buckin' bronco bruising of the woolly kind.

The Food Network New York City Wine and Food Festival, New York, Oct. 8-11: Hosted by and benefiting the Food Bank for New York City and Share Our Strength, this festival brings the toque and the home cook together. Everyone from sous chefs to casserole queens can attend wine seminars, recipe-creation panels and cooking demonstrations. For the kiddie cook, check out the Kids Get Cooking! series. Your favorite celebrity TV chefs will be there, en masse, including Ming Tsai, Paula Deen, Rachael Ray and Anthony Bourdain, as well as culinary heavyweights such as Sue Torres, Marcus Samuelsson, Odette Fada, Daniel Boulud and David Chang.

Photo: www.houstonhotsauce.com

September might be halfway over and autumn imminent, but that doesn't mean the fall food fun has to end. Here's a selection of September food fests across the country.

Nappanee Apple Festival, Nappanee, Ind., Sept. 17-20: Apple season is upon us. Many are headed to pick-your-own orchards. This festival includes an apple-peeling contest, apple bake-off, pie-eating contest and the world's largest baked apple pie, weighing in at 600 pounds and a whopping 7 feet across. There's a daily lumberjack show, too.

The Houston Hot Sauce Festival, Houston, Sept. 19-20: Hot sauce festivals are on fire! Nationwide, they're popular, chilehead blow-outs. Attendees can sample and purchase a plethora of sauces, chiles and dry rubs. Don't forget to vote in the People's Choice for the Hottest Hot Sauce at this ninth annual festival.

Perhaps you couldn't get to NYC for the 55th Summer Fancy Food Show or maybe you're plotting the most delicious path through the 250,000 edible products on display at the Javits Center. Consider Slashfood your eyes, ears and mouth on the scene.

Day One Favorites
Day Two Favorites
Day Three Favorites

We'll be Twittering our most fabulous finds as @slashfood from the moment doors open on Sunday, until they roll us on out Tuesday night. Just sit back and watch Slashfood's real time reactions via the widget below and after the jump, see Twitters from folks all over the food world.