FOOD FESTIVALS AROUND THE WORLD

Ludlow Food & Drink Festival

The festival celebrates quality food and drink and encourages visitors
to buy local food that tastes and looks good. At the heart of the festivals being is a passion for local food and wine producers which underpins every event that takes place during the festival weekend.
Festival organisers and volunteers work hard each year to bring new producers and fresh produce to this highly successful event. In fact the first day often proves
so popular that producers work through the night
in preparation for an even busier next day.
A particular favourite is the famous Sausage Trail, with local butchers rising to the challenge and bringing along the best new sausages
of the year. Visitors can then sample and vote for their favourite. Whilst
the atmospheric Ludlow Castle is the setting where visitors can sample most of the foodie delights, there is also an Ale Trail that gets visitors
out and about around Ludlow making the whole town seemingly a part
of the festivities.
Visitors can sample old favourites like local beers and sausages
as well as more ‘high end’ produce. But the event is not just for affluent gourmets, whatever your budget or taste, there is something to please every pocket…and stomach!

http://www.shropshiretourism.co.uk/ludlow/food-festival/

Mitchelstown Food Festival

The Mitchelstown Food Festival has been run successfully and has gone from strength to strength
over the past six years. Mitchelstown, which
is affectionately and traditionally known as ‘the home
of good food’ is set at the foothills of the Galtee Mountains, in the beautiful countryside of Ireland’s Blackwater Valley. With its reputation for good food and great festivals, it is the perfect setting for a food festival. The rich resources from the surrounding farmland has made the festival a celebration of authentic and locally produced food.

This year’s festival will be bigger and better than ever and will focus
on the promotion of Irish Pork as the main theme. For generations, Mitchelstown has been synonymous with the production of high quality pork products and this will be highlighted and promoted.

This action packed weekend will include the following main activities:

Workshop: Irish Pork from Farm to Fork
This workshop is open to anybody with an interest in food and will include talks from a local pig farmer, artisan pork & bacon product producers, butchery demonstration from a local butcher and cookery demonstration using pork by a local chef.

The Mitchelstown Lions Club will hold their annual family fun day
in conjunction with the Mitchelstown Food Festival in the Square
in Mitchelstown with fun and games for all the family. This will be followed in the evening by a large scale open air Bringing Home the Bacon BBQ
on Lower Cork Street with live music and entertainment for all the family.

A large Food Producer’s Market showcasing local and national food products will be held at a 20,000 sq ft indoor premises at the Coolnanave Business Park on the main Dublin road (across from the Firgrove Hotel). There will be a dedicated area for Pork & Bacon food producers. This
is an excellent venue in which to exhibit as proved by the success
of the 2008 festival.

http://www.mitchelstownfoodfestival.com/

Cereal Festival and World's Longest Breakfast Table

Battle Creek's (USA, Michigan) annual breakfast, served at 159 picnic tables strung out along Michigan Avenue in the middle of the downtown business district, is a long-standing tradition, dating back 53 years. This year also marks the 150th anniversary of the incorporation of the town of Battle Creek.
Although the festival has declined in activities and attendance over the past few years, the focus isn't on attracting large numbers to break the world's record, but on bringing people together as a community. "This annual gathering is a unique opportunity for the entire town to sit down at the same table and share a meal together," reminds Battle Creek's Mayor Mark Behnke.
Business owner Bill Morris, likens the event to a family reunion, "The world's longest breakfast table is Battle Creek's annual family reunion, where people who haven't seen each other since last year's cereal festival are able to reconnect in a relaxed and festive atmosphere."

http://www.bcfestivals.com/index.taf?s=2

The Mid-Autumn Festival

The Mid-Autumn Festival, (also known as the Moon Festival, Zhongqiu Festival), is a popular harvest festival celebrated by Chinese people
and Vietnamese people (even though they celebrate it differently), dating back over 3,000 years to moon worship in China's Shang Dynasty.
It was first called Zhongqiu Jie (literally "Mid-Autumn Festival")
in the Zhou Dynasty. In Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines,
it is also sometimes referred to as the Lantern Festival or Mooncake Festival.
The Mid-Autumn Festival is held on the 15th day of the eighth month
in the Chinese calendar, which is usually around late September or early October in the Gregorian calendar. It is a date that parallels the autumnal equinox of the solar calendar, when the moon is supposedly at its fullest and roundest. The traditional food of this festival is the mooncake,
of which there are many different varieties.
Farmers celebrate the end of the summer harvesting season on this date. Traditionally on this day, Chinese family members and friends will gather to admire the bright mid-autumn harvest moon, and eat moon cakes
and pomelos together. Accompanying the celebration, there are additional cultural or regional customs, such as:
Eating mooncakes outside under the moon, putting pomelo rinds on one's head, carrying brightly lit lanterns, lighting lanterns on towers, floating sky lanterns, burning incense in reverence to deities including Chang'e, planting Mid-Autumn trees, collecting dandelion leaves and distributing them evenly among family members, fire Dragon Dances.
In Taiwan, since the 1980s, barbecuing meat outdoors has become
a widespread way to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon_Festival

Homowo Festival

Homowo (which means make a fun of hunger) in Ghana African people have always had at the time of the harvest. In Ghana the Yam Festival (Homowo) lasts three days. The festival begins with a cleansing ceremony to honor family members who have died. Farmers give thanks to the gods who ensure a good harvest. Twins and triplets are honored during this time as a special gift from God.
Yams are an important crop in Ghana. During Homowo, they are taken from the ground and are carried to the village. Then they are blessed
by the chief. Special foods made from yams are served. Mashed yams with hard boiled eggs are an important part of the festival. People also eat Kpekpele which is made from corn meal and palm oil. During Homowo people wear a kind of toga made from kente cloth which is brightly colored. The festival ends with a big feast. People dance and sing to the sounds
of drums. feast. People dance and sing to the sounds of drums.

http://www.garena.com/forum/viewthread.php?action=printable&tid=389485