Columbia Food and Wine Festival announces 2023 dates and limited pre-sale tickets

Last minute holiday shoppers can snag tickets to the Grand Tasting Dec. 19-23

Columbia Food and Wine Festival, presented by Certified South Carolina, announced its 2023 festival dates. The weekend-long celebration of Columbia’s hospitality scene will take place Wed., April 19 – Sun., April 23, with eight events across the five-day span in two counties. Now in its sixth year, the festival features the region’s finest plates and pours from nearly 100 local restaurants, breweries and more. For one week only, Dec. 19 – 23, pre-sale tickets to the festival’s Grand Tasting are available online at columbiafoodandwinefestival.com.

“Columbia Food and Wine Festival has done a tremendous job lifting up our local hospitality businesses,” said Mayor Daniel Rickenmann. “I can’t think of a better way to promote our city’s thriving restaurant scene than a five-day celebration of great food and community. We are open for businesses and open for visitors! I look forward to welcoming guests from near and far to Columbia for the festivities.”

Since its inception in 2018, Columbia Food and Wine Festival has welcomed 7,000 guests to 26 events featuring more than 150 culinary partners at locations across the region, from Northeast Columbia to downtown to Lexington. In 2022, 48% of attendees came from outside of the City of Columbia. Out-of-town guests have doubled in the past three years — in 2022, 14% of festival goers came from outside of the Midlands region (up from 7% in 2019).

Limited Tickets to Grand Tasting Available for Pre-Sale Dec. 19 – 23

The grand finale to Columbia Food and Wine Festival’s lineup, hundreds of foodies will revel in the flavors of Columbia at the Grand Tasting on Sun., April 23, 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. Plates will be filled with generous and creative samples from local chefs while glasses clink to farm-to-shaker cocktails, craft brews and spirit-free sippers. From live music to live chef demonstrations, artisan pop-up shops and more, festival goers will explore and discover the best of Columbia’s culinary scene.

Again this year, the event will take place at the historic Robert Mills House and Gardens with bites, sips and sites from more than 60 local restaurants, breweries, mixologists and culinary artisans. VIP and Early Access ticket holders receive one-hour early entry to the festivities at noon.

A limited number of pre-sale tickets are available Mon., Dec. 19 – Fri., Dec. 23. Treat friends and families to the gift of good food this holiday season with tickets to the Grand Tasting available at columbiafoodandwinefestival.com.

Details and locations of Columbia Food and Wine Festival’s signature events will be released in the new year. The event is again hosted by South Carolina Event Productions, a subset of The Post and Courier Columbia and Free Times.

“We are thrilled to see how Columbia Food and Wine Festival has grown over the past six years and the impact it has made in our hospitality community,” said Chase Heatherly, Chief Revenue Officer of The Post and Courier + Evening Post Publishing. “We’re dedicated to continuing to develop it in a way that further reflects the local food scene and showcases our region as a destination to visitors from all over the Southeast.”

Six Years of Food Festival Fun

The 2023 festival marks the sixth year for Columbia Food and Wine. What once was a single-day tasting event has transformed into a five-day, food-filled fest that gains regional attention for Columbia’s culinary offerings. In addition to the grand tasting, the festival will host seven other signature events ranging in size, location and concept.

Past signature events include a kickoff dinner with four chefs and four courses, heavy metal brunch, cocktail competitions and more. Columbia Food and Wine Festival is committed to bringing unique experiences to its guests, identifying significant local landmarks to play host to one-of-a-kind culinary collaborations. Details for the 2023 signature event lineup will be announced early next year.

As the greater Columbia S.C. region’s culinary landscape continues to grow, Columbia Food and Wine aims to propel and celebrate the success of local chefs, brew masters, mixologists and more.

“My favorite aspect of Columbia Food and Wine is the way it brings the restaurant community together,” said Josh Rogerson, chef and owner of Parabellum Mobile Eats, a new food truck serving elevated bar and comfort food. “It’s a rare opportunity to get this many chefs, mixologists, managers and industry workers in the same space to showcase our work. I cherish this chance to hang out, work together and learn from each other.”

The festival actively looks for ways attendees can learn and connect to local foods and farmers to help cultivate and grow appreciation of the importance of agriculture for our region.

“From sourcing local foods to highlighting the connections between chefs and farmers, the Columbia Food and Wine Festival is a great supporter of Certified South Carolina,” said South Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture Hugh Weathers. “We’re proud to partner with them again in 2023.”

Giving Back for a Growing Hospitality Community

Championing the local hospitality scene is a core value of the festival. Through chef stipends and profit sharing with local business owners, Columbia Food and Wine Festival prioritizes the needs of its culinary partners.

Columbia Food and Wine Festival will again support The Charitable Plate and the South Carolina Restaurant and Lodging Foundation (SCRLF) as its nonprofit beneficiaries.

The Charitable Plate provides scholarships to fund the advancement and growth of future chefs, farmers, heritage foods, and educational pursuits to strengthen our local food system. SCRLF benefits the state’s hospitality industry by administering education and workforce development programs, industry certifications and more. Learn more about the festival’s nonprofit partners at columbiafoodandwinefestival.com/about.

The 2023 Columbia Food and Wine Festival, presented by Certified South Carolina, is generously sponsored by Beam Suntory, Columbia Metropolitan Airport, Don Julio Luxury Premium Tequila, Hotel Trundle, Lexington Medical Center, Main Street District, Mauldin and Jenkins, Palmetto Citizens Federal Credit Union, SSOE, and The COMET.

As always, Columbia Food and Wine Festival will highlight the best sites, bites and sips of Soda City and beyond. Pre-sale tickets to the Grand Tasting are available Mon., Dec. 19 – Fri., Dec. 23, exclusively at columbiafoodandwinefestival.com.

 

About Columbia Food and Wine Festival

Columbia Food and Wine Festival highlights the thriving culinary scene throughout the greater Columbia S.C. region through events that spotlight diverse talent and elevate local businesses. The multi-day festival brings thousands of festival goers and community members together for a one-of-a-kind experience featuring Columbia’s finest plates and pours. Since 2018, Columbia Food and Wine Festival has highlighted the “Real Southern Hot Spot” as a destination for food-filled experiences. Plan your #ColaFoodandWine itinerary at columbiafoodandwinefestival.com.

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Website: www.columbiafoodandwinefestival.com/

About Post and Courier, the event host

The Post and Courier, founded in 1803 in Charleston, is an award-winning newspaper including the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service. In 2020, The Post and Courier expanded statewide and now operates newsrooms in Columbia, Greenville, Myrtle Beach, and Spartanburg.

Since 1987, Free Times has served as Columbia’s entertainment publication providing local coverage on politics and government, arts and entertainment, food and nightlife. Free Times has long been a staple of the media landscape in our region. In 2016, Free Times was acquired by Evening Post Industries, owner of The Post and Courier. Since that time, the two sister brands, both firmly committed to local journalism, have shared content in print and online to reach readers across South Carolina. Together, Free Times and The Post and Courier employ 18 full-time journalists living and working in the city of Columbia. In addition to producing Columbia’s largest and most-read weekly publication, Free Times has grown a reputation throwing incredible events including Best of Columbia and A Free Times Halloween.

Today, The Post and Courier and Free Times sustain a reputation for providing honest and trusted coverage of news, food, music, arts, and culture, throwing incredible events and engaging an audience of diverse political views, socioeconomic statuses, ages and genders.