Play with Your Food this November at Florida's Food Festivals

Tampa, FL — Like to play with your food? Then here's your chance. November's Florida food festivals feature a flapjack eating contest, an oyster shucking and eating contest, a mullet jumping contest, and many more competitions and cook-offs!

"That's the fun thing about food festivals," says Joan Steinbacher, author of "Food Fest! Your Complete Guide to Florida's Food Festivals." "They have these off-beat competitions that are one-of-a-kind. And eating contests are very popular, albeit quite messy!"

Land O' Lakes hosts the Flapjack festival where you can eat free flapjacks on Saturday morning — but make sure to save room for the flapjack eating contest that afternoon! The oyster shucking and eating contests highlight the Florida Seafood Festival in Apalachicola. And the Mighty Mullet Maritime Festival in Panacea boasts the International Mullet Cook-Off and the Mullet-Jumping contest.

Because of the diverse activities, Florida’s food festivals are ideal entertainment for the whole family. But don't forget the main attraction — delicious food! November festivals feature a huge variety of indulgences — fresh seafood, chocolate-covered pineapple, finger-lickin' good ribs, hot and spicy chili, craft beers, assorted wines, and much more.

"Fall is one of the best times to get out in Florida," Steinbacher says. "People, in general, love food, and people in Florida love to be outside. It's a great way to combine the two into one."

So spend a day or weekend at these festivals and get your fill of tasty Florida fare while enjoying a variety of musical entertainment, children's activities, arts and crafts, and other fun amusements.

Here's a sampling of what's coming to Florida this November:

* Tallahassee - Wine and Food Festival (November 1–2)
* Apalachicola – Florida Seafood Festival (November 2-3)
* Jensen Beach – Pineapple Festival (November 2-4)
* Land O' Lakes – Flapjack Festival (November 2-4)
* Homestead – Miami-Dade Parks Ribfest (November 2-4)
* Leesburg – Chili Cook-Off (November 3)
* Safety Harbor – Wine Festival (November 3)
* Tampa – Zoofari (November 3)
* Pinellas Park – Cajun Cafe on the Bayou Beer Tasting Festival (November 3)
* Ruskin –Seafood Festival (November 3-4)
* Fort Myers – Taste of the Town (November 4)
* Ponte Vedra Beach – Food and WineFest (November 7-11)
* St. Petersburg – Ribfest (November 9-11)
* Hudson – Seafest (November 9-11)
* Dunedin – Wines the Blues (November 10)
* Clearwater – Chiliblast (November 10)
* Panacea – Mighty Mullet Maritime Festival (November 10)
* Homosassa – Seafood Festival (November 10)
* Plant City – Pig Jam (November 17)
* Yankeetown – Seafood Festival (November 17-18)
* St. Petersburg – Grand Central Chili Cookoff (November 24)

Don't miss out on another fun Florida food event! For additional information and more events, visit "Food Fest!"—the ultimate "foodies" travel guide—at www.FoodFestGuide.com