22 Of the Best Food Festivals All Year Long in Upstate New York!

Upstate New York has more food festivals than you can shake a chicken wing at.

This gallery looks at 22 of the best ones. They cover all regions in Upstate New York, and also cover all seasons. So, as we move into fall and winter, now is a good time to get out a 2025 calendar, peruse this gallery for the festivals, and start circling dates for your travels next year. They are all fun and fabulous. And quirky. I mean, food festivals dedicated to Sauerkraut? Garlic? Grape Pie? Pickles? Bagels? Cauliflower? Yes, and they are among the best ones!

Some of these festivals are huge, and held in the great urban centers of our largest cities. Several attract well over 100,000 visitors annually. Others are small, and held in out-of-the-way rural locations. They too are great fun. You will see chicken wing festivals, spiedie festivals, and of course several large wine festivals. All are family friendly.

This writer has been to every single one of these festivals, and has written about them extensively. My favorite? You really should check out the Sauerkraut Festival in Phelps, NY (Ontario County). While it does not draw the largest of crowds, it is a fun community-wide festival in tribute to what was one of Phelps' top economic producers. How about a painted cabbage head contest? Slices of sauerkraut cake (it is surprisingly tasty), cabbage bowling, and a parade that crowns the King and Kween of Kraut. Very cool. Very small-town Americana.

This is by no means a complete list of food festivals. So, if you know of one that we missed, no matter the Upstate New York location and no matter the tie of year, please visit our Facebook page and give it a shout out!

22 Tasty New York Food Festivals to Sample This Summer

Here are 22 great Upstate New York food festivals to put on your road trip calendar for for all of 2025. . From corn to garlic, and wings to spiedies, and from wine to craft breweries, the spotlight shines bright on Upstate New York's native food and beverage history all wrapped up in fun family festivals all year long.. Of course there are many more than the 22 listed here, so if yo know of a great Upstate food festival, please visit our Facebook page and give it a shout out!

Gallery Credit: Chuck DImperio

West Point Legends In Bronze and Stone

The United States Military Academy at West Point is a must see destination for anyone interested in American history or military history in general. The Academy campus sits on a promontory high above the Hudson River Valley, with dramatic views from many locations around the school. The Gothic stone buildings are jaw-dropping, and the cemetery here is without a doubt one of the most important in New York State. There are also many heroic statues dotting the landscape paying homage to our great leaders of the past. Here is a selection of monumental statues that pay tribute to the "Legends of West Point." Tours of West Point are given, and are fascinating.

Gallery Credit: Chuck DImperio

Source: 22 Of the Best Food Festivals All Year Long in Upstate NY