Taste — Fall Food Festivals in Southern WV

What do you get when you combine delicious fall flavors with an active community? Food festivals! We’ve got a few in Southern West Virginia that should be on your radar, including…

Chili Night – Beckley

Fall means the return of comfort food, and what’s more comforting than a big bowl of hearty chili with all the fixin’s? Beckley’s annual Chili Night is something the whole city anticipates!

At Chili Night, you’ll enjoy 50+ vendors serving up their special recipes. Tantalize your tastebuds with specialties like paleo, vegetarian, vegan or green chili. Or, stick to more a traditional recipe. Want to turn up the heat? Set your tastebuds on fire with one of the spicier options!

Not craving chili? Other vendors will be there serving everything from barbecue to funnel cakes (and cool drinks to wash down the spicy goodness). Musical entertainment and carnival rides for the kids will be provided all evening, so stick around for a fun time.

Celebrity judges will also be on hand to judge all 50+ chilis and will ultimately decide the winners of four categories: restaurants/caterers, non-restaurant businesses, organizations, and individuals. There are also awards given for best-tasting spicy chili and most unique speciality chili. Consider yourself a chili connoisseur? With your entry fee, you’ll get a coin to vote for your favorite chili! Stick around to see who wins the People’s Choice.

Entry to Chili Night is $5, which gets you 5 tasting tickets and a coin to vote for your favorite chili. Make your way to Uptown Beckley on October 7, 2017 for a spicy good time!

Taste of Our Towns (TOOT) – Lewisburg

On October 14, 2017 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m, the streets of downtown Lewisburg will be filled with people sampling tasty treats from across the region! Get ready for Taste of Our Towns.

At Taste of Our Towns (affectionately known as TOOT), you’ll get a taste of all that Greenbrier County’s restaurants, civic clubs and nonprofit organizations have to offer. Thousands of people from across the region turn out for this event. Fan favorites include The Greenbrier, serving up everything from steamy shrimp n’ grits to decadent chocolate creations, and The General Lewis Inn’s sticky toffee pudding. Make sure you arrive early— this event is so popular, vendors tend to run out of their goodies before the day is done!

Did you know that Lewisburg is home to one of four Carnegie Halls still in use today? TOOT is a major fundraiser for the historic building, which serves the region as a nonprofit, educational artistic center. While you’re in downtown Lewisburg for the festival, swing by Carnegie Hall— the building’s stately architecture is worth seeing! And don’t forget about the music and other entertainment that’s provided all afternoon.

Taste of Our Towns is free to attend, but if you want a taste, you’ll have to purchase tokens. They are $1 each and are sold in increments of 5.

Taste of Bridge Day – Fayetteville

Enjoy tantalizing flavors galore at Taste of Bridge Day! This food festival takes place the night before at West Virginia’s biggest one-day festival— Bridge Day!

Held at Adventures on the Gorge, Taste of Bridge Day is your chance to sample many of the region’s best restaurants. Food vendors pull out all the stops for this event with mouth-watering appetizers, entrees and desserts. Try traditional West Virginia favorites, like pepperoni rolls. Or mix it up with unique flavors from around the world. And don’t forget dessert! Enjoy everything from fresh fruit to rich chocolate creations. If you’d like a beverage to go with the sample platter of your dreams, there will be several cash bars on site serving beer, wine and cocktails. 

Food vendors also compete for coveted awards, and you help decide who wins! Awards will be given for best appetizer, best entree, best dessert and people’s choice. Don’t forget to pick up your voting coin at the ticket booth so that you can vote for people’s choice!

As you sample all of the tasty treats offered, you can also check out local artisans and enjoy live music! Take a break from snacking to browse handmade jewelry, pottery, bath and body products and more. This year, Danny Cooper and Common Houses will be providing musical entertainment. Oh, and don’t forget the jaw-dropping view of the New River Gorge Bridge from the pool deck at Adventures on the Gorge!

Local food, art and music: what more could you want? How about supporting a great cause! Taste of Bridge Day is also a fundraiser. All funds raised during the event benefit the Oak Hill and Fayetteville Rotary Clubs. The Rotary Clubs are made up of volunteers and support extensive community service projects that benefit the local communities; they also contribute numerous donations every year to charitable organizations, especially those that support children in the local area.

Taste of Bridge Day is free to attend, but if you want to try the delicious local cuisine you’ll have to purchase tasting tickets. Tickets are $1 each and are sold in increments of 10. Food samples range from 1 ticket to 7 tickets. Swing by Adventures on the Gorge on October 20, 2017 from 5 – 9 p.m. to get a taste of Bridge Day!