Busch Gardens Food & Wine Festival 2026 – the many reasons why you don’t want to miss it!

Experience Foodie Paradise during Virginia’s Largest Spring Food & Wine Festival at Busch Gardens Williamsburg

This spring, new flavors and thrills are in bloom as Busch Gardens’ Food & Wine Festival on Thursdays through Sundays from April 23 – June 21, 2026 (as well as Memorial Day)!

This popular food festival returns to take guests on an unforgettable culinary adventure with over 135 international flavors. A complete menu of the Food & Wine Festival dishes and drinks can be found online at Busch Gardens Food & Wine Festival page. With 17 tasting locations and over 65 new specialty menu options, there will be something for every member of your family! This is a great opportunity to sample cuisine from around the world, and we do mean cuisine – this is not your ordinary amusement park fare.

The best way to sip and sample is with a Food & Wine Festival sampler lanyard. Guests can embark on their culinary journey and save 10 percent with a 10-sample lanyard or extend the savings up to 20 percent with the fan-favorite 15-sampler.

In addition to the Food & Wine festivities, beer and cocktail lovers raise your glasses! OktoberTaps (new in 2024) features Perfect Pour technology with twelve craft brews on tap. Margaritas offers 5 different margaritas including the all new Mango Margarita and Passion Fruit Margarita. The Sangria Garden features an array of specialty beverages, such as the all-new Sangria Gelatin and Classic Sangria, as well as returning favorites Blood Orange Sangria and Pineapple Jalapeño Sake Sangria.

Best Way to Visit and Ride – Busch Gardens Spring Sale

This popular food festival returns to take guests on an unforgettable culinary adventure with over 135 international flavors.

Admission to the festival is included with park admission, and individual tastings range in price.  If you have an Annual Membership make sure to present it when you purchase your food for a discount. You can also prepay for meal tickets – which will save you money.

Here is how the Food & Wine Festival works; 17 different kiosks are set up throughout Busch Gardens, each one is easily identified with the Food & Wine Festival logo and a four-sided billboard telling you about the country you are sampling from and interesting food facts. Large signs with that country’s menus are near each kiosk. Pick up a Food & Wine Festival Guide located at each participating country, these guides include a map of the park, locating each kiosk and it also includes menus for each country.

Try food and beverage items not normally served at the Williamsburg theme park!

Live Music

Enjoy an epic summer of live music at the Busch Gardens® Concert Series, where top artists across genres—from Christian to pop—take the stage on select nights from April 25 through Sept. 5 at the Royal Palace Theatre.

• April 25 – The Beach Boys
• May 2 – HANSON
• May 16 – Pop 2000 Tour with Chris Kirkpatrick of *NSYNC, O-Town, Ryan Cabrera & LFO
• May 30 – Hoobastank
• June 13 – Skillet
• September 5 – Flo Rida

Taste of Busch Gardens:

There are many tasty reasons to come back week after week:

Here is a short run down including our favorite samples from 2026!

VIRGINIA
This is the first Kiosk you will come to once you enter the park, it is located near the Train Station and horse stables. The Jalapeño & Cheddar Hushpuppies were a big hit with the teens. The serving size was nice, they were moist with the perfect amount of spice. AND the Apple Crisp…if you can only get one item this might be it!! The oat and walnut topping with bacon bits is a fantastic combination… I mean jam, bacon, and sugar…you really can’t go wrong! The Strawberry Lemonade is tasty and a great non-alcoholic treat on a hot day if you have non-drinkers or kids with you.

HIGHLAND SPIRITS
Located near the Loch Ness Monster is the Highland Spirits Kiosk. Note this is one of the newer Kiosks from 2024 offers more than just drinks and the name might imply! We tried the Bourbon Pecan Balls and they were amazing! You can really taste the dark chocolate with a hint of bourbon. Next time we are going for the entrees which are the Whiskey infused Cheese Dip & Rosemary Raisin Crostini and the Whiskey Cheese Dip.

AFRICA
Africa is located across from Finnegan’s Flyer and offers a shaded seating area. The Peri Peri Chicken was so good with the chili garlic sauce! Don’t skip over the Koshary, I’m going to learn to make this at home, it was so good with a little spice, I might go a little lighter on the tomato sauce but otherwise it was one my favorites and vegan friendly!

HAWAII
Located in Ireland, next to Castle O’Sullivan. We decided on just getting a beverage. We will be back for the Coconut & Macadamia Chocolate Tart though!

MEXICO
Mexico is a great place to take a break – behind the Kiosk, there’s a shaded little oasis where you can escape the hustle of the park for a bit.

POLAND
Located in France across from the Royal Palace Theater (this used to be the French Quarter Kiosk). The Kolaczki cookies were SO Good and I was surprised by how big they were, you can definitely split these between two people. I wanted to take a dozen home with me! The Pierogies were really good too!

BRAZIL
Located in New France, next to the Trapper’s Smokehouse. We’ve heard wonderful things about the Brazilian Kiosk over the years! The Churrasco is a must, this is grilled beef with a chimichurri sauce. The Linguica (Brazilian sausage) is also worth a try. Also to note if you enjoy mixed drinks this is your opportunity to try the Pineapple Mint Caipirinha, made with cachaca, pineapple & mint! (note: the Malbec this year is Don Miguel Gascón)

PUERTO RICO – NEW!
Located in Germany, next to the German Gift Shop. We tried the Mofongo Casserole which is mashed plantains with fried pork rinds on top and Coquito which is coconut, condensed milk, Bacardi Dark Rum and a dash of cinnamon.

BARKASTLE SPIRITS
Don’t be fooled by the name of this Kiosk there are more than just a Bar! BarKastle (located next to DarKoaster) has the absolute best chocolate dessert! The Bourbon Chocolate Tart was amazing!! If you are only going to sample a few items at the Food & Wine Festival put this on the list. This is a big statement but I will stand behind it. The Virginia Pimento Beer Cheese Dip was ok but honestly it probably wasn’t a fair fight up against the Chocolate Tart.

ITALY
If you have someone in your party that is looking for something filling the Giant Meatball is the perfect option!! The picture does not do the size of the meatball justice! I guesstimate it’s a 1/4 pounder stuffed with cheese. The Caesar Salad was a nice fresh addition to the heavy meatball.

ISLAND FREEZE
Located in Germany across from Verboten. They have draft beers, frozen cocktails and ciders. Both the Loch Ness Lemonade and Bahama Mama were delicious!

Plant-based food options (vegan friendly) are available in Africa, Turkey, Island Freeze and Hawaii (dessert).

WINE TASTINGS
The park has 5 wine-tasting experiences and everyone receives a complimentary souvenir glass (Italy Gifts, La Belle Maison, Germany Gifts, Caribou Pottery Porch and Emerald Isle Gifts).

Now here are a few insider tips:

Admission to the festival is included with park admission, and individual tastings range in price. Food portions are generous sampling size so you can visit several countries. You can save a little cash if you choose to do a Food or Wine Sampler. 

Wine tasting is a fun addition to the Festival. If you like the wine and want to buy a bottle – you can buy right at the tasting. They will even uncork it so you can enjoy it around the par with your friends. They will put it in a gift bag (if it is a red) or you can purchase a cooler bag from a gift store and fill it with ice if it is a white. We saw many folks walking around with their newly purchased bottles and sharing them with their party.

Your kids will delight at The Art of Food – where food becomes art. In 2016 in Ireland Greg Butauski and his team made a turtle from a butternut squash!

I have to point out the utensil dispensers, I am in love with this concept and appreciate the cleanliness!! Yes, I realize this could be silly to include but it left such an impression on me that it has to be valuable information to others so there you go!

Need a ticket discount – check out our latest Busch Gardens & Water Country USA discounts post for all the coupon codes and special offers we can find – HERE

Cheers to another great Food & Wine Festival!

Visit here for more Busch Gardens events and check out our Daily Calendar too!