Enjoy delicious food, frozen cocktails, wine, beer, games & entertainment at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay Festival

If you click on the links in this post, we may earn money from the companies mentioned in this post, at no extra cost to you. You can read the full disclaimer here.

Sharing is caring!

Picture yourself eating delicious food & sipping fine wine.  Now picture yourself doing this in a day in which you also get to enjoy fun games, take in great entertainment, ride thrilling rides & see amazing animals. This is just some of what you can get at the Food & Wine Festival at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay.  If you are visiting the Tampa/St. Petersburg/Clearwater, Florida area at all between March 16th & April 28th, then you got to go to Busch Gardens for this festival – and if you aren’t visiting the area, then you may want to consider changing your travel plans once you see what Busch Gardens has in store for its guests!

Here are 5 reasons why I think you should consider attending the Busch Gardens Tampa Bay Food & Wine Festival:

  1. Food: Located throughout the Food & Wine Festival are culinary cabins & tents filled with delicious foods.  Some of the food cabins & tents in the past have included:
    • The Heartland: Includes Bison Slider & Homemade Bacon Mac & Cheese
    • West Coast Catch: Includes Baja Fish Tacos & Shrimp Salad Stuffed Avocado
    • The Butchery: Includes Achiote-Rubbed Pork Tenderloin & Hand Carved Espresso-Rubbed Beef Tenderloin
    • Seasonally Inspired: Includes Charcuterie Salad & Impossible Slider
    • Golden Gate Cafe: Includes Grilled Skirt Steak Flatbread & Caprese Salad
    • Berry Nice: Includes Strawberry Shortcake Thrill Shake & Strawberry Shortcake Sundae
    • Sweet Sips: Includes Hummingbird Cupcake & Handmade Cannoli
    • NOLA Eats: Includes Chicken Gumbo & Bananas Foster Cheesecake
    • Hog Heaven: Includes Kung Pao Ribs & Applewood Smoked Bacon
    • Southern Kitchen: Includes Blackened Catfish & Southern Fried Chicken & Biscuit
    • Wave Shack: Includes Fried Clam & Key Lime Pie Waffle Cone
    • The Cantina: Includes Pork Tamale & Short Rib & Cheddar Tostadas
    • Coke Fusion: Includes Sticky Coke Wings & Coke Infused Chocolate Cupcake
  2. Drinks: You can visit the bourbon bar & tequila bar for an expert-led tasting of 4 samples. And okay, you’ve got to be excited about the wine, beer & frozen cocktails served at the Food & Wine Festival!  Here are some of the drinks of the past:
    • Wines
      • Trapiche
      • Oak Cask Malbec
      • Pacific Rim
      • Riesling “J”
      • Lobetia
      • Rose
      • SAVED
      • Red Blend
      • Cabernet Sauvignon Craftsman 14
      • Josh Cellars
      • Alexander Valley
      • Merlot
      • Terrazas de los Andes
      • Malbec
      • Rutherford Ranch
      • Sauvignon Blanc
      • Lohr
      • Seven Oaks Cabernet Sauvignon
      • Murphy Goode
      • Fleur De Mer
      • William Hill Estate Winery
      • Pinot Noir
      • Michael David Winery
      • Freakshow Red Blend
    • Beers
      • Fat Tire Belgium White Ale
      • New Belgium
      • Motorworks Brewing
      • Pulp Friction Grapefruit
      • Funky Buddha Brewery
      • Pineapple Beach Blonde
      • Beach Blonde Ale
      • Swamp Head Brewery
      • Wild Night Honey Cream Ale
      • Motorworks Brewing
      • Intellectual Property Ale
      • Founders Brewing Co.
      • Solid Gold Lager
      • 3 Daughters Brewing
      • Rekorderlig
      • Strawberry-Lime Cider
      • Goose Island Beer Co.
      • Brew Bus Brewing
      • Pair O’ Dice Brewing Co.
      • Lucky Lucy Strawberry Blonde
      • You’re My Boy Blueberry Wheat
      • Tampa Bay Brewing Co.
      • Reef Donkey
    • Frozen Cocktails
      • Blue Lemonade
      • Watermelon Frosé
      • Mojito
      • Red Sangria
      • Blue Lemonade
  1. Shopping: You can find festival merchandise alongside with cooking & gardening gifts at Artisan Festival Cabins along the main Festival pathway to Gwazi Park and Xcursions. You can also buy full-sized wine bottles at select locations throughout the park.
  2. Live Entertainment: Local bands will perform live music on the Coca-Cola stage.  Some of the artists who will be doing concerts are:
    • Collective Soul
    • The Commodores
    • Chase Bryant & Danielle Bradbery
    • Rachel Platten
    • Ezra Ray Hart
    • Three Dog Night
    • Locash
    • Fitz & The Tantrums
    • Home Free
    • Taking Back Sunday
    • Third Eye Blind
    • KC & The Sunshine Band
    • 38 Special
    • Micah Tyler & Austin French
    • Lee Brice
    • Clint Black
    • El Gran Combo
    • Toad The Wet Sprocket & The Verve Pipe
  3. Festival Games: Enjoy fun festivals that have a rustic wine-inspired twist. There will also be a new Coca-Cola games area with Coke bottle ring toss & Coke “can crush”!

Admission to this event is included in an admission ticket to Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, so in addition to enjoying the fun festival, you can enjoy your favorite rides & animal attractions at Busch Gardens!  The place to get the cheapest tickets to Busch Gardens is through their website, because they have some excellent deals right now on tickets!

Hotels.com: $99 or Less