The food festival isn't dead. But social media is rewriting the recipe

MIAMI (AP) — For nearly 10 years running, Lesley VanNess never missed the South Beach Wine & Food Festival, a beachfront bacchanal of celebrities, booze and bites that tens of thousands of attendees pay hundreds to thousands of dollars to join.

It was about access, the chance to nosh and gab with the likes of Rachael Ray and Bobby Flay, people she otherwise could experience only via the hands-in-pans purview of the Food Network.

“I’d get the Food Network Magazine and there would be advertisements for it. I’m like, ‘0h my god! You could go to that? Go to these great events and meet these celebrity chefs?’,” said VanNess, a 44-year-old former restaurant owner from Iowa. “I’m in!”

That was during the food festival heyday, a decade-long stretch starting around 2010 when copycat events popped up everywhere, creating a circuit-like scene for A-list chefs (and ample wannabes).

Then came social media, a force that melted barriers between fans and food celebs. People like VanNess realized that instead of crowding into football field-size tents to chance a chat with Flay, they could just DM him.

Or better yet, they could tune in to online #instafood chatter to perhaps discover the next Ray or Flay, a whole new level of social cred unlocked.

VanNess hasn’t been back to South Beach since at least 2020. “I’d rather see them on social media or go to their restaurant,” she said.

Last weekend, the South Beach Wine & Food Festival turned 25, cementing it as one of the elders of the festival scene, along with its sister event, the New York City Wine & Food Festival, and the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, Colorado. By all accounts, all three are going strong. But many smaller festivals have disappeared, victims of the pandemic, slumping ticket sales, soaring food and labor costs, and chef disinterest.

So, are food festivals still relevant?

“South Beach and New York, they fill a niche and I can see them going on forever. But food events and food festivals are going in a whole other direction,” said Mike Thelin, one of the founders of the now shuttered Oregon festival Feast Portland.

Festivals' success long hinged on the need of chefs, wineries, mixologists, food producers, and what only now are known as food influencers to reach a wider audience. In 2026, that’s an antiquated notion.

“In 2010, they wanted to get on the map,” Thelin said. “They don’t need that anymore.”

That doesn’t mean festivals are dead. There’s a recalibration happening, he explained. What many call “white tent affairs,” a not-so-subtle nod to South Beach’s events that stretch along the sands of the Atlantic, are fading.

“If I’m going to a certain region, I want to know what makes that region special,” Thelin said. “I don’t want to go into a giant white tent that’s devoid of geography and drink a bunch of wines from California if I’m in Washington or Tennessee.”

Taking their place? A host of small, hyper-focused events grounded in people and place. Events like AAPI Food & Wine, a 3-year-old Oregon and New York City-based festival that highlights the work of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

“The foodie scene has changed so much,” said Lois Cho, one of the founders of that event, which draws about 1,000 attendees a year. “People didn’t realize wine and black bean noodles and izakaya and all these different Thai dishes — they had no idea they paired. Creating a different narrative and community where you can connect with people, those are the types of events we’ll see now.”

Social media, she said, unlocked so many overlooked voices.

"And a lot of people haven’t caught on because it’s been a lot of cookie-cutter events for the last 20 years,” she said.

It’s been a similar story for the Southbound Food Festival, which celebrates the culinary scene of Birmingham, Alabama. Started in 2022 and stretching over a week every fall, the event pulls support not just from chefs, but also the region’s art and music scenes.

“There’s less appeal today with these TV chefs. Great chefs are everywhere,” said Nancy Hopkins, one of the event’s founders. “People come to celebrate and uplift Birmingham.”

Still, as Thelin said, the South Beach Wine & Food Festival and it’s New York sibling aren’t going anywhere anytime soon, white tents, Food Network faces and all. Tickets to nearly all of South Beach’s 110 events, which featured 500-plus chefs and food personalities, sold out this year. In its quarter century, the festival has raised more than $45 million for the Florida International University Chaplin School of Hospitality and Tourism Management.

Lee Schrager, the force behind the two festivals, said the South Beach blueprint remains relevant today.

“There’s something very different about DM’ing Bobby Flay than going to an intimate dinner at a table of 10 that he’s doing that’s sold out in three days,” Schrager said. “Social media has made everyone available, but can you touch and feel it?”

The first South Beach event, attended by only 10 chefs, was little more than a wine tasting. This year, more than 30,000 people attended. Martha Stewart hosted a luncheon at Joe’s Stone Crab, Italian celebrity butcher Dario Cecchini tossed slabs of beef into an eager dinner crowd, and Ray reprised her Burger Bash, where everything from Kool-Aid pickles to foie gras adorned smashed wagyu patties on potato buns.

Schrager acknowledged that most smaller festivals can’t operate the way his do, including hosting events he knows will sell tickets even if they ultimately lose money. He said he sold $7 million in tickets this year and brought in $6 million in sponsorships — and netted just a little over $1 million.

“It’s a good number in the festival world, but it’s not a great return if you’re running a profit business,” he said.

Ray, who has participated in nearly every South Beach and New York festival, continues to show up. It’s about loyalty to Schrager, who took her seriously when much of the food world didn’t. But it’s also about in-person access to fans.

“I love talking to people, being with people, having people climb all over you, hang on you, give you a compliment,” she said. “I love being in the real-life experience.”

Friends take a break during the South Beach Wine and Food Festival Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026, in Miami Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

An event participant adds bitters to Alabama oysters during the South Beach Wine and Food Festival Friday, Feb. 20, 2026, in Miami Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

Chicken tikka is served at the South Beach Wine and Food Festival Friday, Feb. 20, 2026, in Miami Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

A couple enjoys the Burger Bash at the South Beach Wine and Food Festival Friday, Feb. 20, 2026, in Miami Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

Lee Schrager, founder of the South Beach Wine and Food Festival, is seen at a festival event Friday, Feb. 20, 2026, in Miami Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

Tori Neville, center, and friends enjoy the food and drinks at the South Beach Wine and Food Festival Friday, Feb. 20, 2026, in Miami Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

Professional cook Rachel Ray congratulates the staff at Coney Burger during the Burger Bash at the South Beach Wine and Food Festival Friday, Feb. 20, 2026, in Miami Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

Friends enjoy a band performance during the Burger Bash at the South Beach Wine and Food Festival Friday, Feb. 20, 2026, in Miami Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

Octopus empanadas with sweet pepper tobiko sauce are arranged on a table during the Asian Night Market at the South Beach Wine and Food Festival Friday, Feb. 20, 2026, in Miami Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

Patrick Garcia samples an array of Asian dishes during the South Beach Wine and Food Festival Friday, Feb. 20, 2026, in Miami Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

Chef Ryan O'Sullivan puts the finishing touches to samples of grilled Kvaroy salmon with fennel remoulade at the South Beach Wine and Food Festival Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026, in Miami Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

Friends walk the South Beach Wine and Food Festival Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026, in Miami Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

Bartender Victor Uceda-Vereo prepares cocktails at the South Beach Wine and Food Festival Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026, in Miami Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

Attendees walk by the Florida International University 25th anniversary tent at the South Beach Wine and Food Festival Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026, in Miami Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

Butcher Dario Ceccini of Italy, welcomes guests to a private dinner at the South Beach Wine and Food Festival Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026, in Miami Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

MONTREAL (AP) — Canadian regulators have approved Gulfstream G700 and G800 business jets in a move that comes weeks, after new tariff threats from U.S. President Donald Trump over the planes’ status in Canada.

A Transport Canada database shows that it certified the American company’s latest private planes on Monday, roughly a week after green-lighting two older Gulfstream models.

Marie-Justine Torres, a spokeswoman for Canada’s transport minister, confirmed on Tuesday that the certification was granted by Transport Canada.

Trump threatened last month to decertify and place tariffs on all Canadian-built planes unless the government approved Gulfstream business jets.

The go-ahead from Transport Canada came despite deicing concerns flagged by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, which granted the G700 and G800 conditional certification in 2024.

The FAA said that Gulfstream, owned by General Dynamics, has until the end of this year to prove that the two plane types function “properly ... where ice may form in the fuel system.”

Late last month, Trump singled out Bombardier Inc. in a threat to ground Canadian-made aircraft and slap them with a 50% tariff, marking the latest escalation of trade tensions between Canada and the United States.

Trump said that he was retaliating against Canada for refusing to certify jets from Savannah, Georgia-based Gulfstream Aerospace.

Trump said that the U.S., in return, would decertify all Canadian aircraft, including planes from its largest aircraft maker, Bombardier.

“If, for any reason, this situation is not immediately corrected, I am going to charge Canada a 50% Tariff on any and all Aircraft sold into the United States of America,” Trump said in his post.

Bombardier and Gulfstream are head-to-head rivals, with the Canadian company's Global series battling for market share against Gulfstream’s latest models.

John Gradek, who teaches aviation management at McGill University, said that certification is about safety and it would be unprecedented to decertify for trade reasons.

President Donald Trump arrives for an event to proclaim "Angel Family Day" in the East Room of the White House, Monday, Feb. 23, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)