The Top 5 Food Festivals in Charleston, South Carolina

Nothing says hospitality like good food and music. Charleston, South Carolina with its long-standing tradition of hospitality spares no effort when setting the public table. Throughout the year residents and visitors alike enjoy food festivals of all sorts; some lasting only a day while others span three days or more. The festivals discussed here are the top five annual food festivals held in the Charleston area.

Southern National Barbecue Championship & Bluegrass Festival, Boone Hall Plantation, Mount Pleasant, SC

For those who can't imagine bluegrass without barbecue, this is the place for you. Each August, nationally known bluegrass musicians combine with professional and amateur barbecue teams for a knee slapping, lip smacking time. To help you decide on your favorite barbecue style, competitors provide free samples of the various types of barbecue. Full meals and beer are available for purchase. Carnival games, a dunking booth, and other family oriented events take place throughout the day.

Lowcountry Oyster Festival, Boone Hall Plantation, Mount Pleasant, SC

If you have never been to an oyster festival, this is the one to start with. Held at the historic Boone Hall Plantation, the Lowcountry Oyster Festival, a fundraiser for the Greater Charleston Restaurant Association, celebrated its 25^th anniversary in January 2008. Known as the largest oyster festival in the world, thousands of oyster lovers gather each year for premium oysters and great live entertainment. To make sure that everyone gets their fill, 65,000 pounds of oysters will be cooked up in January 2009, so be sure to bring your favorite oyster knife and a big appetite. Oyster gloves and knives are also available for purchase at the festival. For those who appreciate a great time but are not particularly fond of oysters, (I've heard rumors about them but I've never actually met one), other food choices are available.

Taste of Charleston,Boone Hall Plantation, Mount Pleasant, SC

Hosted by the Greater Charleston Restaurant Association, Taste of Charleston takes place over three days in October. Cooking competitions and demonstrations, wine and beer tasting, samples of the fare offered by more than 40 local restaurants, and live music make up the main event held on Day 3 of the festival. Although the food is the focus of the event, the much loved and highly competitive, ""Waiters Wine Race" is a big draw on its own. The race is a series of maneuvers that contestants must complete while carrying a tray with an open bottle of wine and two filled wine glasses without spilling the wine under a minute. Proceeds from the event are donated to Ronald McDonald House, the Hollings Cancer Center and Charleston County Science Materials Resource Center.

Blessing of the Fleet and Seafood Festival, Alhambra Hall, Mount Pleasant, SC

What could be better than Sunday in the park with great food, good music, and friends? Each spring a flotilla of shrimp boats gather for the Blessing of the Fleet, which is delivered to each boat in succession by local clergy and viewed my hundreds of festival goers. The annual event is a fundraiser for the South Carolina Shrimpers Society and the East Cooper Habitat for Humanity. Live music, a dance competition, arts and crafts show, and of course, local seafood provided by area restaurants make this a fantastic way to spend the day.

Distinctly Charleston Food and Wine Festival, Charleston, SC

The forth annual Food and Wine Festival scheduled for March 3-8, 2009, is not only a marvelous opportunity to sample Charleston's fabulous Lowcountry cuisine but is a meet and greet for some of the top names in food today. The four-day festival includes cooking demonstrations, culinary competitions, seminars, beer, wine and food tastings, book signings and more. The festival includes over 50 events located throughout the city. A few of the most popular events of the festival are the Restaurant Dine-Around, which features celebrity chefs, the Charleston Gospel Breakfast with live entertainment, and the truly decadent and first to be sold out, Bubbles and Sweets, where you can have a creamy Bourbon Milkshakes, yummm.. The festival is not for children due in part to the costs. Events costs run $35 - $65 per person, per event.