Where there’s a wine country there’s also a budding if not prominent food scene. In British Columbia’s Okanagan wine valley this is exactly the case with festivals and events year round. Here’s a guide to which of the Okanagan’s food and drink events are worth your time. As always, never underestimate the tourist season in the Okanagan. Always book your hotels, AirBnBs, and Okanagan food events well in advance (2-4 months) and make dinner reservations!

TIP: If you’re planning your trip around one of the Okanagan food and drink events listed I highly recommend purchasing your tickets as soon as you can. If you’re looking for tickets to any of these events and they are sold out always inquire with the event coordinator directly for last minute cancellations. You can also visit Facebook pages and groups dedicated to these events to connect with potential tickets.

Here are the top Okanagan food and drink events, festivals and cooking classes.

Grand Sommelier Express
June

The Grand Sommelier Express is an incredible train event for both history, food and wine lovers. Held at the Kettle Valley Railway in Summerland, BC is a special one day only wine train where members of the Bottleneck Drive pour their wines and ciders as guests take in views of Summerland and the Okanagan. It’s truly a MUST in the Okanagan if you’re coming in June. Once the train ride is over, you are returned to the train station greeted with food from the Brodo Kitchen team. Watch the video to see how magical along with where to stay and a few Summerland stops.

 

The Okanagan Pasta Company
Year Round

Locals love The Okanagan Pasta Company. Founded by husband and wife team Emirhan and Cansu Kolburan, their pasta products can be found at local markets. Emirhan was formerly a pastry chef at Mission Hill Winery and head chef at the Curious Café. You can book pasta classes with them in their new location in West Kelowna. They’re super accommodating and friendly. Just reach out on their website or DMs.

Table Fortynine Supper Club
Select Dates

You might recognize Brea as her recipes have graced this very website. Aside from being the most demanded cook in the valley, she also works at Mamas for Mamas AND created the most gorgeous pop ups in the form of her supper club. Dedicated friends, followers and those in the know scoop up tickets before the general public so be sure to follow her on social media for the details to secure tickets. 
What’s involved? Unique locations are transformed with tablescapes, costumes, a shared love of food and an unforgettable evening that only Brea can create with her food and joyful can-do attitude.. It’s different each time so you just gotta go to know this incredible Okanagan food and drink event.

The Okanagan Table
Year Round Okanagan Food Event

New to Kelowna is The Okanagan Table by RauDZ owners, Chef Rod Butters and Audrey Surrao. It’s a bit of everything from a grab and go foodie stop for lunch and offers culinary classes on select evenings.

The Lakehouse Store Cooking Classes – Hands on or Demonstrations
Year Round

The Lakehouse Store on Bernard Avenue offers cooking classes that are hands on. You can also experience chef demonstrations with a sit down dinner that usually involves a 4 course meal and optional wine or beer pairings. Unlike Mission Hill’s culinary classes that are only paired with their wine, The Lakhouse Store has a in house Sommelier who not only can suggest pairings but also work around your preferences. My husband doesn’t enjoy wine but instead had glasses of beer that paired with each meal.

The Okanagan Hot Chocolate Fest
January to February

Full disclosure, my sister Taryn and I not only run this website together but we are also the organizers of The Okanagan Hot Chocolate Fest! Taste unique hot chocolates throughout the valley as we seek to raise money for a special charity. Last year we raised approximately $700 for the Central Okanagan Food Bank! This Okanagan food and drink event does some good for our community and I hope to see you on the hot chocolate trail!

Fire Side Festival
January

What else but live music and beer helps kick the winter blues to the curb? These are top notch musical acts ranging from hip hop to acoustic and are hosted at various events around town such as BNA and Rustic Reel brewery. Not outright a foodie festival but it is held within some of Kelowna’s most food focused breweries and we can all get behind that!

Amuse Kelowna
March

This culinary event was once known as Devour Kelowna when it first began. This is a very popular foodie event when you get to wander around eating dish or bite that is paired with a local wine, beer or cocktail. This event now takes place at the Kelowna Innovation Centre next to the YLW airport. While the new venue is accommodating and chic, the location is a bit far so plan on an Uber or taxi. But if you’re looking to try a little bit of everything Kelowna has to offer this is the perfect event for you.
Kelowna’s best wineries, breweries, restaurants, pastry chefs and cocktail revolutionists come out to celebrate our food scene. The first time I attended I was able to mingle with chef Vikram Vij so it is definitely an event for foodies. You can vote for your favourite dish, favourite drink and favourite pairing. It might be wise to share each dish with whomever you go with. I was so full by the end I wasn’t able to try it all! It’s a classic Okanagan food and drink event with all the greats present.

Fest of Ale
April

Held in Penticton each year people flock to taste craft beer accompanied by local food vendors like Brodo Kitchen, Burger 55 and Smoking Hot Donairs. Book your tickets and accommodations early lest you want to get left behind. Attendees are very passionate and proud of their festival.

The Kelowna Beer Fest
May

Replacing The Great Okanagan Beer Fest that went MIA after the pandemic and cancelled in 2023, The Kelowna Beer Fest takes over the city park. Offering craft beer from Okanagan based breweries, the sold out event was embraced by locals. We expect a return next year!

Kelowna Meat & Cheese Festival
May

The Meat & Cheese Festival has been popular in Vancouver and Victoria. In 2023 it made its move to add Kelowna but timed it on the same day as the Kelowna Beer Fest. That didn’t seem to hinder the event as both were sold out! Wander around the historic Laurel Packing House and enjoy BC and Canadian puveyors of meats, cheese and delicious beer, spirits, wine and more.

Spring Wine Tasting Event
June

The Spring wine tasting event put on by The Okanagan Wine Festivals Society is probably the most attended event we have all year. It’s wine tasting inside the Centre for the Arts held in downtown Kelowna in the arts district. Food and wine as plainly as that. It can get too busy and you can always tell the favourite wineries with long lines and the occasional elbow to the ribs as glasses lift in hopes of an extra good pour. To be frank, if you’ve done something like this before and didn’t enjoy it, we do end up leaving to the casino half way through. Maybe check out one of their smaller events for a more intimate and relaxing experience.

Diner En Blanc
First Thursday of July

If you’re interested in attending the DEB Okanagan make sure you sign up or get a friend who is already a member to sponsor you. If you’re not sure what this worldwide phenomenon is I suggest you watch the movie. Otherwise, it is a tradition started by a few Frenchies where they all got together once a year at a mystery location, dressed in white and brought their own food for an al fresco dinner. Each year the location is different and kept a secret until the last minute. The tradition has since spread to major cities all over the world with millions of people participating. Not interested in cooking? You don’t have to bring your own food! When you register online before the event (after you receive the exclusive e-mail) you can purchase picnic baskets prepared by local restaurants and buy wine to await you at the mystery venue.

Feast of Fields
September

A beloved tradition of mine provided that the heat doesn’t get to me before the wine does. Feast of Fields is put on by a non-profit organization called Farm Folk City Folk. Each year in September a roaming feast is held at a local farm where local vendors are set up offering culinary treats while also creating awareness about the food grown and sold locally. It’s a way to connect the farmers to the food you eat whether it be in your kitchen or at your local restaurant. If the weather doesn’t bother you then you must join this roaming feast.  It is my favourite foodie event in Kelowna!

Hopscotch Festival in Kelowna
September

Featuring beer, whisky and spirits this festival has grown since it was first introduced as the Okanagan Food and Drink Festival in 2009. It has since adopted the Hopscotch festival name synonymous with the 18 year old festival that first began in Vancouver. If you can’t make the Hopscotch Kelowna festival in September you can try to catch the Hopscotch Vancouver in November. With 5000+ attendees make sure you book your accommodations well in advance!

Mission Hill Culinary Classes
November to March

Mission Hill Winery offers wintertime events including their culinary theatre. You used to be able to experience a hands on class that would last for at least 6 hours or more but they discontinued it. Now it is themed dinners like Italian Christmas, French Cuisine,  Discover Thailand or Mystic India. The dinners are created before your eyes in their culinary theatre equipped with cameras to capture various angles. Each dish is paired with one of Mission Hill’s wines and makes for a swanky night out – seriously, these classes aren’t cheap like much of Kelowna. The chef’s are always fun to work with and display a wealth of knowledge you’ll come away with a better appreciation of cooking and commandeering the kitchen. Keep an eye out for the schedule on the Mission Hill website.

Did I miss any? Let me know in the comments!

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