The Food · July 31 – August 1
Come Hungry
More than 20 local restaurants and food-makers — fine dining to street eats. Pull up a chair and bring your appetite.
The food lineup reflects a Lexington that continues to grow while staying connected to its roots. Longtime favorites share space with newer voices, showcasing the city's increasingly diverse culinary identity. More than 20 local restaurants and food-makers will be on the grounds — pull up a chair and bring your appetite.
$5
New This Year
Small Plates at Every Vendor
Every food vendor is offering a $5 small plate or sample — taste your way around the lineup, one bite at a time.
Daughter's Southern
Tradition honored through locally minded, family-inspired Southern cooking.
$5 Small PlateTry a $5 small plate of creamy grits — taste your way around the festival.
Mazunte
The bold flavors of Oaxaca through handmade tacos, tamales, tostadas, and fresh guacamole.
$5 Small PlateSample a $5 small plate of handmade tacos — one stop on your festival tasting tour.
Jasmine Rice
Beloved owner Kukie's Thai kitchen — a gathering place for so many in the community.
$5 Small PlateA $5 small plate of Kukie's classics — a must on any tasting tour of the festival.
Spatzle Factory
Owner Mark Vogt draws on the flavors he fell in love with during two decades stationed in Germany with the U.S. Army.
$5 Small Plate$5 small plate of spätzle — pull up a chair and add it to your festival tasting run.
Irie Flavors
The vibrant tastes of the Caribbean brought to the Bluegrass.
$5 Small PlateA $5 small plate of Caribbean favorites — taste your way around the festival.
Flying Waffle
Kentucky comfort food, bourbon-inspired flavors, and Southern hospitality.
$5 Small PlateTry a $5 small plate — bourbon-inspired comfort in every bite.
Cardira's Columbian
Homemade chorizo, crispy pork belly chicharrones, patacones, arepas, salchipapas, and sweet, freshly made churros.
$5 Small Plate$5 small plate of homemade chorizo or arepas — easy to mix and match your way around.
Hogtown Social Eatery
Harrodsburg's hometown smokehouse bringing low-and-slow Kentucky barbecue — pulled pork, brisket, and all the fixings — to the festival grounds.
$5 Small Plate$5 small plate of pulled pork or brisket — a smoky stop on your tasting tour.
Louisiana Passion
Chef Stephen Vaughn's Lexington-based Cajun and Southern food truck — jambalaya, shrimp étouffée, gumbo, and bread pudding with bourbon crème.
$5 Small PlateA $5 small plate of jambalaya or gumbo — taste your way around the festival.
Wise Bird Cider
Local cider makers pouring throughout the festival.
$5 Small Plate$5 sample pour — the perfect pairing as you taste your way around.
Cannabuzz
A pioneering cannabis mocktail bar, on-site all weekend long.
$5 Small Plate$5 sample mocktail — pause, sip, and keep going on your tasting tour.
Panchitos Ice Cream
A taste of Mexico from Lexington's own New Circle Road shop — authentic Mexican ice cream, paletas, and frozen treats to cool you down between sets.
$5 Small PlateA $5 small cup — the cool-down stop on your festival tasting tour.
Southern Sliders
A Kentucky food truck serving up handcrafted sliders with homestyle country sides — small sandwiches, big Southern flavor.
$5 Small PlateA $5 slider plate — stack it into your tasting run around the festival.
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Pasta Garage Italian Cafe
Fast-casual Italian cafe founded by college friends Lesme Romero and Reinaldo Gonzalez — handmade pasta bowls with fresh ingredients, finished right in front of you.
$5 Small PlateTry a $5 small plate of handmade pasta — taste your way around the festival.
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Joe Bologna's Restaurant & Pizzeria
A Lexington fixture since 1973 — pizzas, pastas, subs, and Italian classics served inside a former synagogue with its original stained-glass windows.
$5 Small Plate$5 small slice — a Lexington classic to fold into your tasting tour.
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Salt Mine Cafe of Owingsville
A home-cooked American kitchen tucked into the pocket of Owingsville — fresh-baked pastries at sunrise, comfort classics all day.
$5 Small PlateA $5 small plate of homestyle comfort — taste your way around the festival.
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Purple Yum Asian Bakery
Lexington's first Asian bakery — ube, matcha, and pork floss pastries, layered cakes, fresh-baked milk bread, and ube lattes.
$5 Small Plate$5 small pastry plate — a sweet stop on your tasting tour.
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The Sister Shack
A Lexington food-truck favorite turning out grilled sandwiches, mac and cheese, and homestyle soul food with love from the sisters.
$5 Small PlateA $5 small plate of mac and cheese or a grilled sandwich — taste your way around.
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Everest Nepalese & Indian Cuisine
Lexington's first Nepali restaurant — handmade Himalayan momos, butter chicken, tikka masala, biryani, and curries from the high country.
$5 Small Plate$5 small plate of momos or curry — an essential stop on your tasting tour.
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Farm-to-Table Pioneer
The Ouita Michel Restaurants
Perhaps no one has done more to shape modern Kentucky food than Ouita Michel, whose commitment to local agriculture and regional identity helped define the farm-to-table movement long before it became fashionable. This year, all of Michel's restaurants will be represented through their beloved side dishes — a reminder that sometimes the most memorable part of a meal isn't the centerpiece, but everything around it.
And More to Come
This is just a taste — more food-makers to be announced.
With 20+ local restaurants and vendors on the grounds, we're still rolling out the full lineup. Follow @cravelexington for the latest vendor drops.
On the Grounds
Vendor lineup subject to change. Follow @cravelexington for the latest.
Tickets · July 31 – August 1
Get Your Tickets
$15 weekend pass · Kids 10 & under free. Two days of food, music, and good times at Gatton Park in downtown Lexington.
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