Columbia Food & Wine Festival

Columbia Food & Wine Festival is a nonprofit, multi-day food and wine festival held annually in Columbia, South Carolina — an event that has welcomed more than 15,600 guests across 62 events since its founding in 2018. The 2026 edition runs April 22–26, spanning five days and more than a dozen individually ticketed events priced from $55 to $250. Organized under The Post and Courier Foundation (501(c)(3)), the festival draws on more than 375 culinary partners from across the Midlands region, with proceeds reinvested into local hospitality partners, service-focused nonprofits, and a hospitality scholarship program.

What distinguishes Columbia Food & Wine Festival from single-venue events is its deliberately distributed format across the greater Columbia area. Rather than consolidating programming in one location, the 2026 schedule spreads events from Lake Murray to downtown to West Columbia, using distinct venues to spotlight different neighborhoods and hospitality communities. The 13-event lineup includes a Kickoff Dinner at Hendrix ($250), an art-and-cuisine pairing evening called The Collections Served ($175), the Cocktail Games competition ($80), a food crawl through Uptown Columbia called Bites Around the Block ($75), a ballet-inspired high tea ($85), an intimate dinner at the Museum of the Reconstruction Era at the Woodrow Wilson Family Home ($150), Viva Las Bourbon ($175), The Cheese Rave: A Curd Collective ($65), a Drag Brunch ($80), Bunaroo featuring Columbia chefs and craft buns ($55), a hands-on culinary class led by Chef Javier Uriarte and Chef David Grillo ($60), a lakeside event at Putnam's Harbor on Lake Murray ($125), and the Grand Tasting finale at two Historic Columbia properties — Robert Mills House and Gardens ($85). Columbia Food & Wine Festival is structured as a per-event ticketing model, with each ticket all-inclusive to its specific event.

Because tickets are sold individually rather than as a single festival pass, attendees build their own itinerary across the five days. All events are 21+, and children and pets are not permitted at most events — though the 2026 Bunaroo will allow pets. Smart casual attire is recommended for street-level events; business casual to cocktail attire is expected at ticketed dining events. Early spring in Columbia typically brings warmer temperatures with the possibility of occasional showers, so a light layer is practical. For out-of-town guests, the festival recommends Hotel Trundle — Columbia's first boutique hotel, located on Main Street near the Robert Mills Estate — and the Hilton Columbia Center in the Congaree Vista district.

Columbia sits at the center of South Carolina, drawing from a culinary landscape shaped by Lowcountry traditions, regional farming networks, and a growing independent restaurant scene. Columbia Food & Wine Festival engages that context directly: guests meet the chefs, makers, and local partners behind each event, and programming includes workshops, interactive demonstrations, and tasting sessions designed to connect attendees with the agricultural roots of the Midlands. The festival's stated mission is to support and celebrate the region's hospitality community — not just to present it.