13 Festivals In Massachusetts That Food Lovers Should NOT Miss

Head down to Lansdowne Street on May 7 between noon and 4 p.m. for a hot dog extravaganza. Hosted by the Phantom Gourmet, the profits from this event benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. This indoor and outdoor festival offers parties inside local restaurants, plus food and entertainment all over Lansdowne Street. Tickets are $10 in advance, $15 at the event. Kids 12 and under are free.

This two-day festival is a great way to sample lots of Wellfleet's delicious oysters, and clams. Natives and visitors alike love this celebration of classic New England fare, and there's a great range of activities available. Some of the things on offer include arts and crafts, cooking demonstrations, fun activities for kids, walking tours, live entertainment, a road race, and the annual Oyster Shuck-Off competition. This year's festival will be Saturday and Sunday, October 15 and 16.

This festival brings together an incredible bounty of vegetarian natural food providers, exciting national speakers and chefs, and educational exhibits in a fun and accessible environment. There's lots of free food sampling, free parking, and free presentations. This event will run from October 22 to 23.

Boston Local Food Festival is a free outdoor festival that highlights local farmers, restaurants, food trucks, and groups that champion healthy food and an active lifestyle from all across New England. The festival also features cooking demonstrations, plenty of great music and live entertainment, and kid-friendly activities. Pictured is the Taza Chocolate Guajillo Chili chocolate square, a popular festival treat. It's a spicy and sweet sensation you won't want to miss. Check out the event on September 18, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Love garlic? Love art? Support both at this festival of over 100 booths, featuring regional artists, farmers, and community organizations. Kick back and celebrate garlic with awesome music, performance, spoken word, and dancing on solar-powered stages. Be a kid again with garlic games, including the famous (or maybe infamous) raw garlic-eating contest. It is tasty and smelly fun. The 18th Annual Garlic and Arts Festival will be held on September 24 and 25.

Ring in the autumn season in Rockport with lots of fresh local goodies. The festival serves up yummy pastries, cider doughnuts, classic New England clam chowder, home-made jams, and farm-fresh produce. HarvestFest also offer lots of live music and an annual Scarecrow Stroll, where artistically dressed and posed scarecrows are erected around town. This is a great event for families. This year’s HarvestFest will run from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, October 15.

The menu for this event includes hot, hearty pancakes, coffee, juice and milk, and lots of local talent. The festival is a sweet and sticky way of celebrating the founding of the city of Springfield, and the whole community comes together to stage this impressive pancake production. This year's event will be held Saturday, May 14, from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m.

CiderDays is a annual community celebration of all things apple in beautiful Franklin County. The festival includes tours, cider-making and tastings, workshops and much more in orchards and venues county-wide from Ashfield, Deerfield, Charlemont and Colrain to New Salem and the towns in between. For all who love apples, fresh or hard cider, apple cuisine, apple orchards or just being in New England in the fall, CiderDays is not to be missed! The next CiderDays will be held in November.

Clams as far as the eye can see. If that sounds like paradise, then head down to the Essex Clam Fest. Besides delicious clams of all varieties and preparations, you'll find plenty of activities, including an arts and crafts area and vendors serving up hot and fresh treats. The highlight of the day is the Clam Chowder Tasting, a competition that that goodnaturedly lets local restaurants battle it out to see which place serves the finest chowder. This year's festival will likely be sometime in October.

This chowder festival is a Cape Cod tradition. It’s the recipe for a perfect day of sipping and slurping samples of chowder from many of the Cape’s best restaurants, all competing for the coveted "WCOD Chowder Bowl." Savor the seaside flavor while listening to live music from the best local bands. This year's event starts June 26 at 12 p.m.

This is definitely a nice way to experience a classic Massachusetts crop in a whole new way. The festival features cranberry cooking demonstrations, lots of local cranberry crafters and chefs, demonstrations of cranberry harvesting, and fun paddleboat rides. This year's festival will be in October.