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5 Boston-area summer food festivals

We hope you’re hungry — we’re dishing details on some of the area’s most mouthwatering summer food festivals, from a pizza palooza to our city’s annual seafood event.

Crowds of people attending Boston Seafood Festival

We’d keep the Boston Seafood Festival details to ourselves, but that’d be pretty shellfish.

Whether you’re a lobster lover or food truck fanatic (or perhaps both), there’s a summer food festival in Boston calling your name.

Read on for details about five foodie festivals + a local dining initiative returning this August.

Beantown Festival, Saturday, June 24
The free inaugural event in honor of Boston’s nickname will take place from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the Rose Kennedy Greenway. Think: Regional vendors serving up plenty of bean dishes + bean-themed games.

Boston Pizza Festival, Saturday, June 24-Sunday, June 25
Grab a slice of ‘za at City Hall Plaza at this free-to-enter festival. You can pre-purchase tickets, guaranteeing you three to 10 slices.

JerkFest Caribbean Foodie Festival, Friday, July 7-Saturday, July 8
The annual family-friendly outdoor event will be held at at the Harvard Athletic Complex in Allston. Snag tickets to sample Jamaican jerk eats and experience a seafood throwdown competition.

Crowds walking through Boston's North End tents for a street festival

Summer festival season means Italian feasts in the North End.

Photo by @vmoraleshorn

SoWa Food Truck and Craft Beer Festival, Saturday, July 22
Explore a variety of eats with 20 local food trucks serving everything from Mexican food to cupcakes, then sip one of the 50+ national craft beer offerings at the rain-or-shine festival. For a VIP experience, grab a foodies or beer lovers package ticket.

Boston Seafood Festival, Sunday, Sept. 10
The annual Boston Fisheries Foundation celebration draws 7,000+ attendees to the Fish Pier each year. Expect competitions + chef demos in addition to fresh seafood bites.

Honorable mention: Dine Out Boston, which returns from Sunday, Aug. 6-Saturday, Aug. 19 with prix fixe lunch + dinner menus. We’re keeping an eye on the list of participating spots, to be announced later this month.

Bonus: Stay tuned to future newsletters for details on this summer’s North End Italian feasts.

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