MIAMI BEACH, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb 17, 2026--
The countdown is officially on! The 25th annual Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival presented by Capital One (SOBEWFF®) returns this week for four days and nights of unforgettable food, drink, music and celebration. The star-studded event will showcase Food Network’s biggest culinary icons, Grammy Award-winning artists, popular lifestyle personalities, and more than 500 chefs, winemakers, and spirit producers all joining forces to EAT. DRINK. EDUCATE. As excitement builds for this milestone anniversary, taking place February 19–22, 2026, tickets are going fast, but Festival fans and foodies near and far still have a chance to snag tickets to some of the weekend’s most buzzed-about events.
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From high-energy beachfront parties and legendary tastings to indulgent brunches and late-night celebrations, SOBEWFF®’s 25th anniversary promises the most exciting Festival yet. Though select events are already sold out, the following experiences still have limited tickets available:
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 19
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 20
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 21
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22
To date, the Festival has raised more than $45 million in support of its educational mission to provide an invaluable real-world experience and an interactive educational platform for future leaders of the hospitality industry at the Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Managementat Florida International University (FIU). Between SOBEWFF® and its sister NYCWFF, more than $53 million has been raised to benefit the respective charities of each Festival. Beyond the funds raised, both Festivals draw attention to the vibrant dining cultures of their respective cities, provide economic stimulus in their communities, and serve as a platform to drive awareness and engagement for a wide array of philanthropic activities.
Tickets for the Festival are On Sale NOW, with plenty of options to suit your taste and budget at sobewff.org. Stay up to date all year long by following @SOBEWFF on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok.
Press Images:HERE
Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival presented by Capital One
EAT. DRINK. EDUCATE. 100% of net proceeds benefit the students at the Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management at Florida International University who also assist Festival organizers with sponsorship fulfillment, restaurant and exhibitor recruitment, logistics, and inventory as well as working alongside some of the world’s greatest celebrity chefs and winemakers. To date, SOBEWFF® has raised more than $40 million for the School.
The South Beach Wine & Food Festival® is produced by Florida International University and Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits, with the support of the Miami Beach Visitors & Convention Authority and the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs. For more information about the Festival, visit sobewff.org or call 866.271.8540. For more information about Florida International University visit fiu.edu, for the Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management visit hospitality.fiu.edu and for more information about Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits visit southernglazers.com.
The Festival returns Feb. 19-22 to celebrate it's 25th Anniversary!
Lawmakers and the White House offered no signs of compromise over the holiday weekend in their battle over oversight of federal immigration officers that has led to a pause in funding for the Department of Homeland Security. A partial government shutdown began Saturday after congressional Democrats and President Donald Trump ’s team failed to reach a deal on legislation to fund the department through September.
Democrats are demanding changes to how immigration operations are conducted after the fatal shootings of U.S. citizens Alex Pretti and Renee Good by federal officers in Minneapolis last month.
Unlike the record 43-day shutdown last fall, the closures are narrowly confined, affecting only agencies under the DHS umbrella, including the Transportation Security Administration, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. But the work of ICE and CBP will mostly continue unabated, thanks to billions in funding from Trump’s 2025 tax and spending cut law.
The latest:
Trump remembered Jackson in a social media post, calling him a “good man, with lots of personality, grit, and ‘street smarts.’”
The Republican president also described Jackson as “very gregarious -Someone who truly loved people!”
“He loved his family greatly, and to them I send my deepest sympathies and condolences. Jesse will be missed! Trump wrote.
It’s up to each federal agency to designate which of its employees are “essential” or “excepted,” both of which mean the same thing in this case. They keep working during a shutdown, typically without being paid until government funding is restored.
Some examples of “essential” employees are military personnel, airport security screeners and law enforcement officers. There can be a wide range, from positions deemed critical for public safety to those authorized by law to continue even without new funding.
Most of the more than 270,000 people employed by DHS are deemed essential, meaning that they stay on the job even during a shutdown. For the fall 2025 shutdown, more than 258,000 DHS employees were in that category, and about 22,000 — or 5% of the agency’s total employee base — were furloughed.
Other agencies affected are the Secret Service and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The vast majority of employees at the Secret Service and U.S. Coast Guard will continue their work, though they could miss a paycheck depending on the shutdown’s length.
At FEMA, the shutdown will disrupt the agency’s ability to reimburse states for disaster relief costs. Some workers will be furloughed, limiting the agency’s ability to coordinate with state and local partners. Training for first responders at the National Disaster and Emergency Management University in Maryland will be disrupted.
Essentially, it’s because Trump acquiesced to Democrats’ request that Homeland Security funding be stripped from a broader spending package to allow more time for negotiation over demands for changes to immigration enforcement, such as a code of conduct for federal agents and a requirement that officers show identification. DHS was temporarily funded only through Friday.
The rest of the federal government is funded through Sept. 30. That means most federal programs are unaffected by the latest shutdown, including food assistance, and pay for most federal workers and for service members will continue uninterrupted.
The U.S. Capitol is seen Friday, Feb. 13, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)
