4 fall Food Festivals Worth The Trip
Published: August 27, 2026
Come hungry! Fall is packed with delicious reasons to plan a foodie getaway. During our Season of Swellness, warm coastal days, golden-hour evenings and some of the region’s biggest culinary celebrations set the table. Start with two O’side favorites, then make Oceanside your SoCal coastal home base for a couple of foodie field trips farther south.
Oside Flavor
September 16, 2026 | Oceanside
Sunset, sips and plenty to snack on. Oside Flavor returns to the SoCal Sports Complex for its 8th year, bringing together food, drinks, live music and community for one big evening under the North County sunset.
More than 100 vendors and two stages come together for the 21+ event, giving you plenty to taste and discover from 5–9 p.m. It’s part food festival, part coastal night out and a fitting way to kick off fall foodie season in O’side.
Why go: Come for the bites, stay for the sunset and live music.
Taste of Oceanside takes you inside approximately 70 local restaurants, breweries, wineries, cafés and specialty food businesses for an afternoon of exclusive tastings and discovery.
Stroll from stop to stop from 1:30-5pm, meet local chefs and owners, and mix in live music, local art and themed Taste Hubs along the way. A complimentary trolley makes it easy to cover even more ground.
New this year: Upgrade to the VIP First Taste Experience for an exclusive pre-event hour at a featured Taste Hub, including tastings from 5–10 vendors, music, special experiences and VIP swag before the main event begins.
This one sells out year after year, so snagging tickets early is a smart move.
Why go: It’s one of the easiest ways to taste a huge cross-section of O’side in a single afternoon.
Del Mar Wine + Food Festival
September 30–October 4, 2026 | Del Mar + San Diego
Ready for a foodie field trip? Head south for the Del Mar Wine + Food Festival, a multi-day celebration bringing together top chefs, restaurants, winemakers and familiar faces from the worlds of sports, surf and food.
The week kicks off September 30 with an opening night celebration in Del Mar before rolling into wine dinners, special culinary events and a two-day Grand Tasting October 3–4. The Grand Tasting alone features more than 100 chefs and restaurants alongside 150+ wineries, breweries, distilleries and beverage makers.
The festival also gives back, with a portion of proceeds supporting Feeding San Diego.
Why go: Big-name culinary talent, serious wine and plenty of SoCal personality, all within easy road-trip distance of O’side.
San Diego Food + Wine Festival
November 1–8, 2026 | San Diego
Keep the culinary road trips coming with the San Diego Food + Wine Festival, celebrating 22 years with an entire week dedicated to food, wine and culture.
More than 20 experiences fill the schedule, ranging from major tasting events to workshops, panels, film screenings and cocktail-focused happenings. The festival is especially known for celebrating the cross-border culinary culture that makes the San Diego and Baja region so distinctive.
And keep an eye out for a familiar O’side face: Chef Tommy Ramirez of Dija Mara is among the culinary talent taking part. The signature weekend includes Icons + Legends on November 6, the Grand Tasting on November 7 and Grand Fiesta on November 8.
Why go: Come for a taste of the wider region and a chance to cheer on O’side culinary talent while you’re there.
Mark Your Calendars: Swell Plates Series
February 1–28, 2027 | Oceanside
The foodie fun doesn’t stop in fall. This February, the month-long Swell Plates Series returns to Oceanside, with chefs and restaurants across the city teaming up with the Oceanside Museum of Art to create limited-time dishes inspired by art and the stories behind it. Taste your way through the series with a Swell Plates passport, join weekend food tours and enter a giveaway along the way.
Stay tuned here — more delicious details are coming soon!
Make Oceanside Your Foodie Home Base
Turn festival season into a fall foodie getaway with Oceanside as your SoCal home base. Pair festival plans with warm coastal days, golden-hour sunsets and even more great eats, whether you’re tasting your way through O’side or heading south for a foodie field trip. Click here to plan your stay, settle in by the coast and savor even more of Southern California.
