Last Updated on July 28, 2023
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Asheville’s Chow Chow Culinary Festival brings award-winning chefs from North Carolina and beyond to join the biggest and best of Asheville’s restaurant scene. Featured events include farm dinners, tours and brunches, chef demonstrations, tastings, and so much more.
When is the Chow Chow Culinary Festival 2023?
Chow Chow Culinary Festival (a.k.a. the Asheville Food and Wine Festival 2023) is an incredible Asheville event that runs from September 7-10, 2023.
The events will mix amazing, diverse flavors with the community while raising awareness about food insecurity, racial justice, and climate change.
That’s why we wanted to give you this preview of the exciting event and everything you need to know about it.
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Chow Chow Culinary Festival in Asheville, NC: Things to Know
Featured Image Credit: Tim Robison.
About Chow Chow Asheville
Chow Chow’s concept is to embody inclusivity, and not just for the Asheville community. Event admissions range from free to high-end, luxury experiences.
Tickets are sold a la carte, making Chow Chow Asheville more accessible to the community. The event hopes to highlight all aspects of the culinary supply chain, including farmers, mixologists, chefs, brewers, bakers, artists, writers, and potters.
The festival invites James Beard Award-winning chefs such as Meherwan Irani and Katie Button, along with multi-generational farmers and local potters like East Fork’s Connie Matisse. Forage through the woods or wrap food in clay before baking it, that is what Chow Chow festival is about!
Through this, Chow Chow perfectly mixes Appalachia with the various ethnic backgrounds that have shaped Asheville and North Carolina into the melting pot we know today.
Chow Chow and Community Impact
The Chow Chow Culinary Festival is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. By purchasing tickets, event-goers are helping to support the overall mission to enrich the Southern Appalachian region.
Typically for a food festival, the majority of the ticket costs go to cover hosting the event, but Chow Chow Festival believes in food for thought. Event runners believe that tough conversations are best had around a great plate of food and built a gathering for eating and building a better future.
To take their mission a step further, 95% of all festival expenses are re-invested into the community. This is done by supporting and utilizing local event production companies, event staffing, recycling and waste, marketing, and so much more. It doesn’t get more local yall!
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Things to Know Before Attending Chow Chow 2023
- Tickets can be bought for individual events, individual days, or you can select a Weekend Pass to enjoy the full schedule of events.
- Purchase tickets before you go, as many of the events are already starting to sell out. You’ll receive an email confirmation that will serve as your ticket.
For the full Chow Chow Asheville schedule, check here.
- You must be 21 years old to attend many events. While kids and pets are mini foodies, unfortunately, the festival is unable to safely accommodate them.
- Still, aspiring food lovers should be sure to check out the festival website for family-friendly events. 2023 features an all-ages plant-based cheese seminar and several cooking classes open to the whole family.
- For 2023, Sunday of the festival weekend is Pay What You Can to make sure everyone in the state/city can get a taste of what’s cookin’.
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- Make hotel reservations soon. Asheville’s hotels (including the Omni Grove Park Inn) and other area accommodations are expected to fill up during the event.
- The festival centers around Pack Square Park, a great place to check for Information stations.
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Looking forward to Chow Chow Culinary Festival, too?
The Chow Chow food culture festival is perfect for anyone who loves culinary adventures, happens to be in Asheville, willing to travel there, or all of the above.
The multi-day immersive experience brings makers together like a complex meal to invigorate your taste buds and spark your creativity.
All this for a great cause makes this a must-visit event in one of our favorite spots in North Carolina’s mountains. For information about 2023, please stay tuned here!
