Twin Cities Food and Wine Experience at Saint Paul RiverCentre has run an annual grand tasting in the Twin Cities since 2002. Local chefs, 150 wines, the regional industry social.
Tip: VIP tickets at 16:00 give early access; general admission at 18:00. Sample plates from Spoon and Stable and other Beard-track chefs.
Address: Saint Paul RiverCentre, 175 Kellogg Blvd W, Saint Paul, MN 55102, Minneapolis
Uptown Art Fair on Hennepin and Lake has packed art booths and food trucks into Minneapolis since 1963. Three-day August weekend; the city's largest free street food event.
Tip: Get there before 11:00 to find shade. Food row sits along Lake Street west of Hennepin.
Mill City Farmers Market's Tomato Tasting in Minneapolis tastes a hundred heirloom tomato varieties on a mid-August Saturday. The market's signature annual event since 2009.
Tip: Arrive at 09:00 when the tomatoes are at peak; chef demos run on the riverside lawn.
Northern Spark runs an all-night art festival on the Minneapolis riverfront since 2011. Free, dusk to dawn, June Saturday with food trucks across the Mill District.
Tip: The Stone Arch Bridge is the central viewing line. Food trucks set up on Portland and 2nd Street through dawn.
Open Streets Minneapolis closes a city avenue to cars on summer Sundays since 2011. Each Sunday a different street, with food trucks, bike rides and pop-up family events.
Tip: Lyndale, Lake Street and Franklin avenue editions are the food-truck-densest. Calendar at the Our Streets Minneapolis website.
The Minnesota State Fair on Snelling Avenue draws 1.8 million visitors over 12 days ending Labor Day. The Great Minnesota Get-Together; the country's largest state fair by daily attendance.
Tip: New foods announced every July. Sweet Martha's and Pronto Pups are the unmissable stands. Park-and-ride buses from anywhere in the Twin Cities.
