Love your Maui Onion flavored chips?  You can get to the heart of the matter at the annual Maui Onion Festival, May 2nd in Whalers Village on Kaanapali Beach, Maui.

These sweet Maui onions can be grown in locations other than Maui, but nothing beats the islands for a celebration of this type.  Over a thousand pounds of onions and five local celebrity chefs will provide cooking demonstrations and compete for the Best Onion Recipe prize.

If you’ll be visiting Maui during this time be sure to head into Kaanapali – all you’ll have to do is follow the fragrance of those sweet, sweet onion wafting about the place!  Take a look at the schedule of events, and plan some onion enjoying vacation time.

Photo credit: SXC

Headliners for this year’s Fabulous Food Show in November have been announced, and the majority are recognizable faces!

The Food Show starts Friday, November 13 and runs until Sunday, November 15.

The Show kicks off with “Semi- Homemade” star Sandra Lee and “Tyler’s Ultimate” Tyler Florence, both slated for the 13th. On the 14th Tyler returns with Guy Fieri, and Bobby Flay will close things down on the 15th.

Tickets don’t go on sale until this summer, but keep an eye out if you’re a Food Network fan that wants to see some stars in action!

If you will be in New York City this weekend, try not to miss the New York Food and Wine Festival.  It begins, tomorrow, October 9 and ends on Sunday October 12th.

The events are numerous from tastings, food tours and parties you can have your pick.  One event you won’t be able to get any tickets to is Rachael Ray’s Burger Bash on Friday night.

16 contestants, including Al Roker, will be vying for the prize of the best burger.  There will be a lot of eating, drinking and merriment.  The New York Post spoke with Ray about the party and news that she plans on opening up a burger joint next year:

Ray knows a thing or two about burgers. In addition to offering countless recipes for home cooks (she calls her Seven-Layer Slider her “piéce de résistance”), the self-described “burger freak” plans to open a hamburger joint in Midtown next year.

“I’m going for a ’60s back-in-the-day Rat Pack-y kind of hangout, and I want the bar to be really central [and] the burgers to become a very social thing,” says Ray. “I want people to come to the bar to see beautiful proper martinis being made and to enjoy some sliders while they’re doing business or sit in the dining room and have fine dining in ground form.”

Tickets are still available for some events but must be purchased and picked-up prior to the event.  You can’t just show up at the door.

Get more information on tickets and the festival at the official website.

If you haven’t already made your reservations, see if you can get a spot for the 25th Annual Aspen Food & Wine Classic, sponsored by Food & Wine Magazine.  The dates are June 15-17.  If you are looking for accomodations, suggestions are The Inn at Aspen or book a reservation through ResortQuest.  ResortQuest specializes in vacation rentals, such as condominiums.

Since it is Food & Wine magazine’s 25th anniversary they are also raising money for Farm to Table.  A charitable organization helping to keep small farmers in business.

The weekend will include food demonstrations, food samplings, wine seminars and wine tastings.  You can get individual event tickets or weekend passes.

There will a number of speakers from the food, wine and trade industries:  Mario Batali, Mins Tsai, Sissy Biggers and Mark Oldman to name just a few.

To read more about the event go to the Drinks Media Wire or the Aspen Food & Wine Classic website for event information and to purchases tickets for the demonstrations.

It is almost time for the National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, DC. The Cherry Blossom Festival runs March 31-April 15, 2007.

The festival began in 1935 to commemorate the gift of 3,000 Japanese Cherry Blossoms to the Nation’s capital from the Mayor of Tokyo, Japan in 1912. There are a variety of events throughout the two weeks.

On April 14th the Cherry Blossom Festival, celebrates with a parade followed by the 46th annual Sakura Matsuri-Japanese Street Festival sponsored by The Japan-America Society of Washington, DC:

The Sakura Matsuri is is the largest one-day exhibition of Japanese culture in the United States. It features three performing arts stages; a martial arts stage; 25 vendors of Japanese and Asian cuisine; a Japanese beer garden; 30 exhibitors of traditional and popular Japanese culture; and 20 vendors of a wide array of Japanese goods and crafts.

The above information is from the National Cherry Blossom Website. To learn more about all the scheduled events during the two weeks, including various performances, sporting events, parades and more click on the event list.

The Sakura Matsuri Street Festival takes place on Pennsylvania Avenue between 10th and 14th Streets and on 12th Street between Pennsylvania and Constitution Avenues. The event is free and open to the public rain or shine.

For more information regarding the Sakura Matsure Street Festival click here.

Picture from Rachel Cooper at About.com.