Forget Tilt-a-Whirls and Ferris wheels. When
we want to go for a ride, we head to a food festival for
flavors that will send us swirling. Here are two months' worth
of festivals that feature protein, produce, and sweet potatoes
aplenty. Now that's tasty tourism. - Jenna
Schnuer
Overheat at the eighth annual
Houston Hot
Sauce Festival. If you want respect from the locals,
there's only one thing to say to the various vendors: "Hurt
me." Then, if you can still write, cast your vote for the
hottest hot sauce of the year.
Festival must-try: The limited-edition,
made-for-the-festival hot sauce
Details: September 22, 11 a.m. to 6
p.m., and September 23, noon to 5 p.m.; $5 per person, free for
children 12 and under; Houston Farm & Ranch Club, just off
Highway 6, a mile and a half north of I-10;
www.houston
hotsauce.com
Open up and let 'em slide.
The Washington
State Seafood Festival (a.k.a. OysterFest) hosts the
annual West Coast Oyster Shucking Championship. Watch the
competitors crack those puppies open. Then squeeze on a little
lemon, and you're good to go.
Festival must-try: Bacon-wrapped
oysters
Details: October 6 and 7, 10 a.m. to 6
p.m.; $5 per person, free for children under 6; Mason County
Fairgrounds, Shelton,
Washington (about an hour and a half
southwest of Seattle);
www.oysterfest.com