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    Gastrofest

    4.3 (20 reviews)

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    Great month for the festival
    Debbie F.

    This side of JAX is so wonderful for a festival. The views of our beautiful city are breath taking. The festival was laid out nicely circled around the fountain. Various kinds of vendors were found not just food. The music was great but wished seating was better as it was full every time I stopped for lack of space. Their was not as much food booths as I wished they had and Long lines at the few kept me from trying alot of the food offerings but the one they had looked great. I was in and out within 2 hours and located great parking so it was a enjoyable time spent on a beautiful day.

    There was an El Mariachi Loco spot Omg.Top: they called it pupua? I would call an arepa. Bottom: Mexikale salad. Supper yummy.
    Gisell B.

    Gastrofest was fun. I actually looked to see what was happening and came to one of the talks they were having - Kailo Nutrition. Worth the hour of my time. I loved seeing the different kinds of vegan or gluten free alternatives. Ate some delicious food at El Mariachi Loco. Their Mexikale salad was in point! They had pupua that was like an arepa with a slaw and tomato sauce on top. Ended the day with a cookies and cream ice pop and slice of cake. They had food, music, how to's, beer, people watching, and more. I loved seeing my friend Maira there too.

    Maisha R.

    Despite the rain on the horizon, this was a great event. I arrived just as things were getting started and there were pros and cons with such an early arrival. I had little difficulty finding parking, which was a good thing but unfortunately, some of the vendors weren't quite ready and others hadn't even arrived yet to set up! The advertisements suggested that all of the vendors would have "tasting" items but some restaurants - and food trucks - must've missed that memo. For the ones who did have sample items, the portion sizes varied, but most were worth the $2-3. I tried the following items: Nomi's Cheese Bar - Fried brie cheese ball ($3) Abtrakt - Chicken sisig taco tasting ($2) Pear Market - Coca-cola pulled brisket, chive cornbread, housemade pickle ($3) and jalapeno lemonade ($1) Bistro Aix - Bacon braised short rib and polenta cake ($3) Bono's/Pastiche - Pulled pork slider ($3) Congaree & Penn - Strawberry key lime soda ($1) Since this was my first year, I have nothing to compare it to, but I think I prefer paying for what I want rather than the set price, as was apparently the case last year. I don't think I could've eaten $45 worth of food, unless I spent the entire day there and was prepared to sleep the following day! Perhaps offering an "all-inclusive" option and an a la carte option would appeal to everyone. Kudos to the organizers!

    Daisy D.

    Loved this event! And I have to admit I was quite hesitant when I first started hearing rumblings when i was in the early planning stages. Was Jacksonville ready for such a festival? We most certainly were!! All the local favorites were there and the rotating vendors throughout the day, definitely kept it interesting and made it an all day affair. We ducked out of the heat for a bit and enjoyed the Gospel of Beer seminar and the Bold Bean Coffee cuppings being offered at Down the Rabbit Hole. I tried so much this fine River City had to offer. 29 South, Moxie, Black Sheep, Corner Taco, Jalapeno Truck, Orsay, and so many more. I waddled back to my car at the end of the day with a happy belly. Ran into so many people throughout the day and the weather honestly could not have been better! Can't wait to see this event come back.

    2015 map
    Kristina K.

    I've been looking forward to Gastrofest since I contributed to their IndieGoGo campaign late last year and it definitely stood up to my high expectations. I was only there for a few hours but managed to have a glass (well, cup) of wine from San Sebastian Winery, an empanada sampler from the Cat's Meow, insanely good cheese stuffed fried green tomatoes from 29 South, a super tasty crab cake with miso from Catering by Liz, Fresh Jax's avocado beet salad, Taverna's Israeli salad with tzatziki sauce, and Ceviche Jax's Peruvian ceviche. They had tons of food and drink options (any time of food you could imagine plus beer, wine, and mixed drinks) plus workshops, panels, and booths showcasing groups from the UF agricultural extension to the Jax Young Voters Coalition. Most of the negatives about the day (the Skyway can be confusing, it was super hot, a creepy dude trying to chat me up) were not things the organizers could fix. That said, there are a few things that could be done better in the future. The biggest problem I had was that quite a few of the food vendors only had a tiny sign with what they were serving. That meant if there was a line (and there was a line at most spots), you basically had to get in line without knowing what you were getting in line for. Other places had sandwich boards, which helped a lot. Overall, this was an amazing first year event. I'm already ready for next year!

    The welcome shade
    Michelle M.

    Color me impressed. If this is their first time organizing a Gastrofest, then the movers and shakers of this event are phenomenal. Although I've dined at many of these fine establishments, there were several that I wasn't aware of and I definitely plan on checking out their restaurant. Beer tents? No line. NICE. Seating? Easy peasy. Rotating vendors? Genius, because it makes purchasing the $45 bands worth the cost and keeps you there all day if you're so inclined. Variety of events related to the culinary arts? Yes, I'm a Nerd and thought the lectures were pretty interesting (although perhaps they could've made an announcement in between musical sets to let people know). Although no one controls the weather, it was nice, especially in the shade. At a festival, expect lines. If you're not down with that then festivals aren't your bag baby. I myself never waited more than 15 minutes. In the case of Orsay, I walked right up. Bistro Aix, 5 minutes max. Cerviche was my 15 minute wait but it was well well well worth it. We were there 11-9. Enjoyed meeting all kinds of people and seeing neighbors and friends enjoying Hemming Park. Standing ovation for the grit and tenacity of the people who made this event happen. Kudos to the volunteers (my son was among them) who contributed their time and also to the food loving public who made the Gastrofest a success.

    $45 wristband
    Maya C.

    It finally happened and what an awesome turnout. I also had been looking forward to this event since I first heard about it during the committee's fundraising event at Blue Bamboo. My friends and I got there about 12 noon with plenty of parking around Hemming Park and the Parking Garage was still available for $5. I knew it was going to be hot so I opted for the garage and walked over. I was super excited to eat all day long and chill with my foodie peeps. I already had $25 worth of tasting tickets from their IndieGoGo campaign, but I went ahead and invested in a 4-star tasting pass for $45. With that band you can get all the tastings you want (where applicable) and use of the VIP bathrooms. I didn't partake in the bathrooms but a wrist-banded friend did and she said they were worth it over the porti-potties. Now where to begin with the food? In all, we got a blue cheese ball from Nomi's Cheese Bar, a handcrafted soda with mini chicken + waffles from Moxie, ceviche from Ceviche Jax, a crab cake from Catering by Liz, and Quinoa Salad from Fresh Jax, Fried Oyster Po'Boy from Bistro Aix, Carrot and Chickpea Hummus from Ovinte, a roast beef crostini from Funkadelic Food Truck, some parmasean fries and a Vanilla Shake from MShack, shrimp salad from Orsay, Nutella Meringue from Tres Leches, tasted part of a watermelon cupcake from Cupcakes 50 etc and a McKenzie Cider from the Beer Tent (cash only for that). The some of the lines were starting to get long so we paced ourselves and some tastings we purposely skipped over. We also sat in for some of the cooking demos from 13 Gypsies and tasted a Foie Bolonga something haha. That was pretty good. The most entertaining demo had to have been Chef Amadeus as he's seen our group around town and interacted with us lot while he was cooking. It turned out to be a beautiful day (with plenty of shade) for a foodie fest. I may go again next year as I see the potential in this event to be bigger. Good job Gastrofest team!

    The bacon braised short rib on a polenta cake from bistro X
    Mark B.

    Great job goes out to the organizers. I stopped in today as I always do. I love it when these folks use Hemming Plaza for things like this. I really do like events downtown. Then to top it off it was a food thingy. I did like a lot of the restaurants that were there. From Bistro X, Taverna, Il Desco, Black Sheep, to name a few. There were also some cool venders with some art stuff and one of my favorite Congree n Penn farm with their rice and drink. The weather held off and it ended up being a perfect day for this event. I saw and met so many of my friends here as I normally do. They also had many speakers and that shared their knowledge of food and the way to prepare it. In all it was a great time and great weather. Till next year Y'all

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    Ask the Community - Gastrofest

    Review Highlights - Gastrofest

    29 South, Moxie, Black Sheep, Corner Taco, Jalapeno Truck, Orsay, and so many more.

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    Jacksonville Jazz Festival - Food trucks & Cooling stations

    Jacksonville Jazz Festival

    4.3(24 reviews)
    0.6 miLaVilla
    $

    Jazz Fest returns to Metro Park!! I realize that this is…read moreprobably just a temporary venue while the Jax Landing space gets figured out, but thank you City of Jax - this is the perfect spot! And on top of that, they added Daily's Place too!! Seats, covered seats - away from the heat & elements! And lots & lots of parking ($15) at the stadium. Also - thank you for the variety of food trucks and having the buses available for Cooling Stations. We all mourn the recent loss of David Sanborn - Jax has done a good job adding new artists & juggling the schedule after this tragedy.

    We've been attending the Jax Jazz Fest for more than 15 years. We come down from Atlanta and…read morepurchase the "VIP Experience" every year. We just got back from the 2025 fest, and it was the most disappointing of all. Background: The Jax Jazz Fest (JJF) used to be a wonderful experience. Not anymore. They used to provide 3-5 different stages with all types of jazz, smooth, Latin, Cool, Swing...you name it. It used to start around 11 am and go into the night. No more. It's down to one stage with R&B and HipHop artists and some Jazz sprinkled in. It's no longer a Jazz Festival. Gates open around 5 pm most days, so it's less than half the musical choices it used to be. It gets worse. The VIP thing is a joke, an expensive joke. We paid $ 1,200 for the two of us for the 4-day event. It's actually 3 days since the first day is only one performance, usually a little-known act. We parked a half mile from the venue in the VIP lot...and walked in the blistering Florida heat. Through sandy, gritty former parking lots and abandoned former industrial sites. We were filthy from the waist down by the time we finished our hike to the gate. There is only one gate, leaving you with yet another 200-yard walk through the crowd to the undersized VIP tent, which, of course, was full, with nowhere to sit, since it was undersized for the VIP crowd size. Drinks. We paid $60 with a couple of dollar tip for two "signature drinks" that were unidentifiable. Twenty-six bucks each plus tax. You read that right. Watered down and loaded with ice, they were terrible. They stopped providing drinks as part of the admission a few years ago, but the price remained unchanged. A total money grab from the event organizers. The food is unlimited, but doesn't change all day...so how many times are you going back for the same piece of chicken you ate a few hours ago? You'll eat once, pick a little the second go round, and you're done. You'd think they would bring out different choices, some fruit, sliders, wings, maybe some pasta as the day wears on, but no. Same food all day long. So, unlimited food is limited by the poor selection that remains unchanged. Kool and the Gang and Maysa saved the weekend, as did Trombone Shorty. Also, we long ago started staying at the beach in case the JJF disappoints, which is has begun to do more often, so coming from Atlanta, we at least have some beach time. Sunday was rained out for the most part, as was Saturday last year. Do you think they would provide us with a credit for next year's "VIP Experience" since we spent over $300 on the tickets for that day? Nope, tough luck. We're done. No more VIP, since there's nothing VIP about it. Oh, and to be clear, you have to buy the VIP before they announce who is playing, or you pay more for waiting. It's sad what this has become, as we had many happy times in the past.

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    Isle of Eight Flags Shrimp Festival - The 57th Annual Topsy Smith Memorial Beard Contest 2026

    Isle of Eight Flags Shrimp Festival

    4.3(18 reviews)
    27.0 mi

    Really enjoyed the festival. Had been to Amelia Island at least 5 times and finally made it to the…read morefestival. There are very good vendors at this one. Truly a focus on art. A large quantity of non profit food booths that raise money for great causes. Located in a beautiful community with extremely friendly people. Plenty of restrooms and also portapots. Entertainment at the waterfront. Boat cruises. Florida's oldest bar. Mostly paid parking during the 3 day festival. Many nice restaurants located throughout. No charge to go to the festival if you don't need to park.

    Oh MY!!! Seriously, I have lived in Jacksonville almost 8 years now and I didn't know about this…read moreevent! Crazy. First- it is chaos, they estimated this year to have 150k visitors for the festival- that's right one hundred, fifty THOUSAND people descending on this little coastal town. They had so many vendors, mostly arts and plenty of food and drinks, not to mention all the great businesses in historic downtown! I went with my mom, we arrived around 10am and it took 30 minutes to find parking. Plenty of local business offered parking for a fee- but it was $10 (a church), $20- most perimeter businesses) & $30 for prime parking right off the main drag. Somehow my refusal to park in a paid lot worked out and we found a vacant street parking spot a few blocks away. AKA- be prepared to walk a lot and also prepared to pay for parking. The the festival- the entire main drag is shut down and every side street for a block both north and south filled to the brim with arts, antiques, garden art and more! They have two festival booths for shopping tshirts and other shrimp inspired merch. Mom ended up buying a pink shrimp festival t-shirt. I LOVED all the various art! Metal, glass, photography, painting, pottery, jewelry- you name it! Mom scored various items from $3 to $50 and I bought copper jewelry from 2 different artists. One from Key Largo- Metal and Fire Designs, I found a gorgeous torch patina cuff bracelet and big, gorgeous earrings. Another woman who lives in Clearwater (originally from Maui) does enamel coated metal jewelry- Uli Kai Designs- she was marvelous! I had a difficult time picking out one pair and ended up buying two! Crabby Patty Pottery was there too, a Fernandina local Potter & so many more. People come from all over too- Georgia, the Carolina's, all over Florida- it's really incredible. Years ago I went to a food festival in Jax and was very disappointed, this event was insanely better and I am adding this to my calendar for next year! Now that I have been, I will be more prepared! Oh & the food!!! Most of the food was on the waterfront, at the end of the main drag- plenty of food tents set up and mom and I had garlic parmesan shrimp from the Shrimp Pie boat. Long line, but moved quickly! I am grateful it was overcast most of the day- it was warm, but tolerable. A Gorgeous day for a festival! I'll have to check the brochure to see if they said how many vendors were there, because it was crazy! Highly recommend, wear comfy shoes, bring a hat, sunscreen and a bag for purchases!

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    Isle of Eight Flags Shrimp Festival - Gorgeous glass art

    Gorgeous glass art

    Isle of Eight Flags Shrimp Festival - Waterfront

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    Clay County Fair - Pickle barrel sirloin tips

    Clay County Fair

    4.4(22 reviews)
    23.8 mi

    What can I say! Every time I go I have a great time. It wasn't that hot either which was great,…read morecoconut cream donut was just delicious and the steak tips omg the sirloin steak tips were soooooooo good. People were nice, friendly and just fun. Didn't eat as much as I did last time but I did pick up some hot sauces again which are fantastic. I will always recommend this fair so if they're around your area go and have a blast.

    I haven't been to a fair in a really long time but I'm so glad that I decided to go to this one. I…read more100% percent agree with other reviewers when they said that this was an organized event. From volunteers to the Sheriff's Office, they got you in, parked, guided to the entrance, kept safe, and made sure you got back to your vehicle via golf carts. We didn't ride any rides as the older we get, the more fragile we think we are lol. The carnival games? I could probably beat them but I wasn't going to let them take my money for a huge stuffed animal that I really didn't need. What we REALLY came here for was the food. My coworker told us, even drew up a map, about where the best vendors were and we made sure that we hit all of the spots. He said he gets the Pickle Ranch Pizza every single year from the specific vendor over by the foodie garden and loves it so much. Sounds odd, but when I tried it I actually liked it. There was another vendor around and down the corner that also had it but for $2 more. He also let me know about the Sweet Tea and/or Lemonade vendor that adds Tajin so I had to get one of those. Didn't realize that it was a frozen drink which made it even better. The "itinerary" also included the candied nuts from The Almond Tree, Amish Donuts from the famous Peachey's Baking Company ( which had a long line so you know they're good), and Tacos from La Taqueria. All fire. Off "itinerary" were the Lobster Roll (good but pricey), the Deep Fried Cheesecake (meh), the Hot Sauces from the Angry Goat Pepper Company (the Serrano, Cilantro, and Chive sauce is now my #1 favorite sauce), the Lemon Lavender Marinade from Barbara's Kitchen Jams (guy was so nice and I'mma sucker for Lavender. gave us some good recipes as well). No animals for us this year, we were beat. Gonna need to come here again.

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    Clay County Fair
    Clay County Fair
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    Filipino Pride Day - Adobo, limpia and more

    Filipino Pride Day

    3.3(3 reviews)
    0.4 miLaVilla
    $$$

    Great day to come to the Riverside Arts market as another element is added, Filipino! Every…read moreimaginable Filipino food, plus dozens of other bakery and food truck vendors (see pics). Local artists and craftsmen plus singing, dancing, local businesses. Come check it out under the bridge. This is the best day of the year to visit Riverside!

    Florida is not known for Filipinos, but thanks to the military, 20% of Floridian Filipinos live in…read moreJacksonville. (In fact, back in 96, half of the graduating class of my high school were all Filipinos!) Three years ago, the local pinoys and pinays finally got together and decided to start a festival. It's your basic cultural festival. Picture the World of Nations, but just featuring one nation. But Filipino Pride Day is FREE to attend. You got the dancers, the singers, the artwork, the vendors selling food and beer and cold treats to tone down the heat. This yearly festival is held at the Landing and is mostly outside, although a few booths and exhibits are inside the building. Last year, I watched local talent Asia Cruise perform. I hear they are going to have some guests from the Filipino Channel this year. (By the way the festival is October 1 this year if you want to check it out!) I think it's been a long time coming. Tampa has already surpassed Jacksonville in recognition with their Philippine Performing Arts Company folk dance troupe and their Bayanihan Arts and Events Center. I hear there were plans for a local Filipino community center, but construction has been halted. At least there are the yearly festival and the many Filipino restaurants around town to enjoy for now.

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    Filipino Pride Day
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    Gastrofest - festivals - Updated May 2026

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