There’s a big new food festival on the horizon and it sounds like it’s going be pretty awesome. YVR Food Fest will be a three-day affair (August 5, 6, 7) brought to us by Arrival Agency, the same folks who gave us the popular Food Cart Fest, which this new festival wraps around and ultimately supplants. Early bird tickets are now on sale and applications for vendors are now open. Here’s the official skinny:

Arrival Agency’s popular summer food event—formerly known as Food Cart Fest—is back, bigger and better. Now known as YVR Food fest, it has evolved into a into a weekend­long celebration of food culture in Vancouver and beyond. Consistently named one of the city’s top food events by the Georgia Straight and WestJet Magazine, YVR Food Fest is now in its fifth year.

“YVR Food Fest’s new direction expands on our previous work by including different communities, generating dialogue and pushing boundaries around food culture. With the help of the top food and beverage minds in our city, we hope to turn the festival into the best food event in North America,” says Arrival Agency’s Ernesto Gomez.

New this year are local and international culinary talent collaborating on long table dinners, food talks, private dinners, and cocktail parties. The flagship event is the Street Food Showdown: a two-­day gathering of 80+ food carts, restaurants, wineries and breweries in the Olympic Village. During this event, participating food vendors will be offering up an unlimited tasting menu for a two ­hour feeding frenzy. At the end of the event, attendees will vote on their favourites and winners will be declared in a variety of categories.

“Over the festival’s run, people have told us they want to be able to sample all the food carts. With this new format you’ll be able to try to them all for two hours as well offerings from some of the city’s top restaurants, who will be bringing their creative, culinary touch to the event,” says Daniel Fazio.

A signature event at YVR Food Fest that’s sure to become a yearly tradition for many is Gather, an outdoor long­table dinner on Saturday, August 6 on the patio at Science World. This 10­ course tasting dinner made by local and international culinary talent will also feature pairings from the province’s top wineries, coordinated by Kurtis Kolt. There are only 150 tickets available and attendees can come with a group or come alone and leave with new friends.

“Guest chefs will be invited to showcase their upbringing and creativity through the use of seasonal, local ingredients. We’re in talks with some amazing local and international chefs for the event, and they’ll all be announced shortly,” says Ernesto Gomez.

Also new this year is Food For Thought, a speaker series on Sunday, August 7 in the Omnimax Theatre at Science Word. Food For Thought is an evening of genuine and personal stories about food-­related topics that engage, provoke, and inspire. Speakers will include chefs, farmers, entrepreneurs, and thought leaders who bring their unique insight to the stage. The full list of speakers is TBA.

“It’ll be like a food­-centric TED Talks,” says Danny Fazio. “We’re inviting people that we consider to be truly contributing to our society though food. We wanted to create an event that’s fun and engaging, but at the same time addresses the real issues food culture creators are facing.”

Early bird tickets for YVR Food Fest are on sale now at www.YVRFoodFest.com, and more events like cocktail gatherings, private dinners, and late night parties will be announced shortly.

Follow YVR Food Fest on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for the latest news and announcements.

YVR Food Fest | August 5, 6, & 7, 2016 | www.YVRFoodFest.com

EVENTS

YVR MIXER

FESTIVAL LAUNCH PARTY

Friday, August 5
Patio at Science World | 6-­10pm
Tickets are $45 | Ticket includes three drinks and canapés

STREET FOOD SHOWDOWN

80+ FOOD CARTS, RESTAURANTS, WINERIES, AND BREWERIES IN THE OLYMPIC VILLAGE

Saturday, August 6 | Olympic Village

Doors at 11am | Event runs from 12pm -­ 6pm
Unlimited Taster Menu is served from 12pm -­ 2pm.
$59 ticket includes access to the Unlimited Taster Menu from 12pm – ­2pm and two alcoholic drink tickets.
$10 ticket includes access to the Street Food Showdown after 2pm and one non­alcoholic drink ticket.
Please note these are Early Bird prices

GATHER

COLLABORATIVE LONG TABLE DINNER WITH 10 LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL CHEFS

Saturday, August 6
Patio at Science World | 6pm-­10pm
Tickets are $199

STREET FOOD SHOWDOWN

80+ FOOD CARTS, RESTAURANTS, WINERIES, AND BREWERIES IN THE OLYMPIC VILLAGE

Sunday, August 6 | Olympic Village
Doors at 11am | Event runs from 12pm ­- 6pm
Unlimited Taster Menu is served from 12pm ­- 2pm.
$59 ticket includes access to the Unlimited Taster Menu from 12pm­2pm and two alcoholic drink tickets.
$10 ticket includes access to the Street Food Showdown after 2pm and one non­alcoholic drink ticket.
Please note these are Early Bird prices

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

SPEAKER SERIES: FRESH IDEAS ABOUT FOOD CULTURE

Sunday, August 7
7pm ­ 9:30pm
Omnimax Theatre at Science World
Tickets are $24

MORE EVENTS AND AFTER PARTIES TBA!