New Jersey Best Food and Drink Festivals 

Atlantic City Food, Wine & Beer Festivals

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​Atlantic City Beer & Music Festival: March

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The largest beer festival on the East Coast takes place annually at the Atlantic City Convention Center, drawing over 15,000 attendees across multiple sessions. More than 150 breweries, including local favorites like Cape May Brewing Company, Flying Fish, and Dogfish Head, offer unlimited tastings of their craft beers, ciders, and seltzers. The festival's culinary offerings feature food trucks and vendors serving everything from gourmet sliders and tacos to wood-fired pizza and locally sourced seafood. Past musical headliners have included Alkaline Trio, New Found Glory, and The Bouncing Souls, with three stages hosting both national acts and regional bands throughout the weekend.

Unique features include a silent disco, a gaming area with oversized beer pong and cornhole tournaments, and a "Beer-Cation" education zone where attendees can learn about brewing processes and beer styles from industry experts. The festival maintains a strong focus on supporting regional brewers, with nearly half of the participating breweries coming from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware.

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Downbeach Seafood Festival: September

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At Bader Field, Ski Beach, where Atlantic City's salt air blends with the aroma of freshly steamed shellfish, thousands of seafood enthusiasts gather for one of New Jersey's largest coastal food events, the Downbeach Seafood Festival. More than 50 vendors, including local favorites like Knife & Fork Inn, Doc's Oyster House, and Vegans Are Us, showcase their culinary talents with offerings ranging from traditional lobster rolls to innovative seafood fusion dishes. Festival-goers can enjoy craft beer selections from local breweries, including Cape May Brewing Company and Glasstown Brewing, while live performances from regional bands like The Wayside Shakeup and Secret Service keep the atmosphere lively throughout the weekend.

Over this 2 day festival it typically draws upwards of 5,000 visitors who can participate in the popular crab cake eating contest or watch professional chefs demonstrate their skills at the cooking pavilion. Interactive experiences include a touch tank exhibit from the Atlantic City Aquarium where visitors can handle local marine life, and a dedicated kids' zone featuring face painting and nautical-themed crafts. The waterfront venue provides stunning views of the Atlantic City skyline, while the festival's arrangement of heated tents ensures comfort regardless of weather conditions.

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New Jersey State Barbecue Championship: July

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Smoke billowed across Olde New Jersey Avenue as more than 10,000 barbecue enthusiasts gathered in Wildwood for the Garden State's premier grilling competition. Over 65 competitive teams including "Skin & Bones," "Jersey Smoke," and "Pig Beach BBQ" showcased their smoking prowess across multiple categories including brisket, pulled pork, chicken, and ribs. The festival featured a Kansas City Barbecue Society-sanctioned competition where certified judges evaluated entries based on appearance, taste, and tenderness while attendees sampled offerings from 40 food vendors serving everything from traditional barbecue to craft brews from Cape May Brewing Company and Flying Fish.

Live music performances from The Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash, Quimby Mountain Band, and local blues group the Billy Walton Band kept the energy high throughout the weekend. A dedicated "People's Choice" pavilion allowed festival-goers to vote for their favorite barbecue creation while professional demonstrations from pit masters taught techniques for achieving competition-quality results at home. Children enjoyed the family-friendly "Little Piggy" zone featuring face painting and interactive cooking displays, while adults participated in bourbon tastings that paired perfectly with the smoky offerings. The waterfront location provided a picturesque backdrop for what has become one of the Northeast's most respected barbecue competitions.