In the last decade, Denver’s dining scene has had a ✨ glow-up ✨ and we’ve got the accolades to prove it. Hungry for a taste? Food festivals are one of the best ways to explore it, with dozens of the area’s hottest chefs and restaurateurs dishing up delicious samples all in one spot. Here are five upcoming local foodie events to get on your calendar ASAP. Happy feasting!

The Big Eat

Date: July 24

Ticket price: $95

Details: More than 70 of Denver’s most popular and award-winning restaurants are slated to participate in this celebration at the Denver Performing Art Complex to benefit nonprofit member organization EatDenver.

SURF, The Denver Seafood Championship

Date: July 31

Ticket price: $150+

Details: Brought to you by the festival masterminds behind Top Taco, Chicken Fight!, and RARE Steak Championship, McGregor Square will host Denver’s first SURF seafood competition featuring 20 of the Mile High’s top seafood-centric restaurants.

Sabor

Date: Aug. 1

Ticket price: $200+

Details: This “gastronomic extravaganza” is a fundraising event held annually at the Denver Botanic Gardens to celebrate the local Hispanic restaurant community, complete with live music, entertainment, and 35 participating restaurants.

Chicken Fight!

Date: Aug. 21

Ticket price: $89+

Details: Wings, tenders, sandwiches — however you prefer your chicken, you’re in for a finger-lickin’ good time at this chicken competition at Elitch Gardens spotlighting more than 40 local restaurants.

Denver Brunchfest

Date: Aug. 23

Ticket price: $101.27+

Details: Don’t miss this annual foodie favorite dishing up waffles, breakfast sammies, and Bloody Marys on the Tivoli Quad for a bottomless brunch like no other.

Small bites on offer from a booth at Denver Food + Wine.
Small bites on offer from a booth at Denver Food + Wine. (Peyton Garcia/City Cast Denver)

Denver Food + Wine Festival

Date: Sept. 3-6

Ticket price: $70+

Details: More than just a sampler of the local food scene, this all-you-can-eat, three-day festival on the Tivoli Quad also includes a wine seminar, an auction, and a food truck competition.

RARE, Steak Championship

Date: Sept. 18

Ticket price: $125+

Details: More than 30 of Denver’s best chophouses will bring the heat — and their best cuts of meat — to this exquisitely elevated culinary competition at Sculpture Park.

VegFest Fall

Date: Sept. 28

Ticket price: Sample plant-based bites from dozens of local chefs and vendors specializing in vegan eats — plus morning yoga, educational seminars, and a makers market — on the Tivoli Quad.

Details: $11.39

📍 Worth a Trip: