22nd Epcot International Food and Wine Festival adds more days to celebrate 35 years of Epcot

This year’s Epcot International Food and Wine Festival is packed with all-new additions to celebrate 35 years of Epcot. Running for a longer-than-ever-before 75 days, this festival will also welcome 35 marketplaces into their flavorful tour of the park.

This year’s festival begins on Aug. 31, and celebrates through Nov. 13, 2017, giving guests a longer festival than ever before.

With Epcot’s Food and Wine becoming one of the nation’s best food festivals, this year’s event will run for an additional 13 days to give guests even more chances to indulge in the fare of the World Showcase and Future World.

Guests will be able to sample food from all over the world, interact with celebrity chefs, take part in culinary workshops and demonstrations, and end their nights with Eat to the Beat concerts. Families will also be able to have more fun than ever before with kid-friendly offerings and a Ratatouille-inspired scavenger hunt.

Some event highlights include:

• Five new global marketplaces
  • Active Eats
  • The Almond Orchard hosted by Blue Diamond Almond Breeze
  • Coastal Eats
  • Light Lab
  • Flavors from Fire
• Returning marketplaces India (2009) and Spain (2010) with delicious new menu items sure to satisfy any palette
• Three nightly Eat to the Beat concerts, with 225 shows in all over the course of the festival at the American Gardens Theatre stage
• Popular tv chefs and culinary icons to meet and watch at Festival Center demonstrations and during Party for the Senses tastings, including Shaun O’Neale, Cat Cora, Buddy Valastro and more.
• “Mix It, Make It, Celebrate It!” workshops, where guests can get hands-on with visiting chefs, bakers and other professionals as they learn to create delicious dishes.

Guests will be able to sample and pair beers, wines and cocktails with their dishes as they stroll through the park, with the complimentary festival passports as their ticket and guide.

There is something for everyone at Food and Wine this year, like the Back to Basics Festival Center weekend series, which will share tips and tricks from professionals, as well as bottle and book signings. The Chocolate Experience: From Bear to the Bar, hosted by Ghirardelli, will also be at the Festival Center offering samples.

Beverage Seminars and culinary demonstrations will give visitors learning and tasting opportunities at the Festival Center as well. On select Saturdays during the run of Food and Wine, Cheese Seminars can also be attended.

Special experiences can be booked ahead of time at Food and Wine at Epcot this year, including Party for the Senses, where guests can take in tasting events with plates from talented chefs and beverage experts, along with exciting entertainment; Resort premium events like a Secrets of Flavor experience and Culinary Adventures with a Mast Chef; and specialty dining and pairing events at participating World Showcase restaurants.

Back to Basics, Eat to the Beat and other park entertainment is included with regular admission to Epcot, but Party for the Senses, grand tasting events, signature dinners and other special experiences require reservations and separate admission.

For more information on the 22nd Epcot International Food and Wine Festival at Walt Disney World, or to book a special culinary experience, visit epcotfoodfestival.com.