Birmingham FOOD+Culture Festival reveals new name and expanded dates

The Birmingham FOOD+Culture Festival, which was named the No. 3 best new festival by USA Today after its inaugural year of 2023, is rebranding as Southbound Food Festival and expanding its run to 10 days.

“Expanding to two weekends and adopting the Southbound Food Festival name allows the event to better reflect its broad mission – creating more space for discovery, collaboration and shared culinary experiences,” said Cathy Sloss Jones, board president.

Jones announced the rebrand at the Pepper Place Spring Bazaar on May 8.

By running 10 days over two weekends, festival organizers hope that even more in-state and out-of-state food lovers will attend.

“We’re bringing people in from 19 states all over the country and Canada and Great Britain,” Jones said.  “We want this to be the main event for our city.”

This year’s festival, which is set for Sept. 19-28, will feature 100 chefs.

“As we continue to grow, we need our look and feel to better reflect our city, who we are, where we are headed and the amazing culinary talent we have here in Birmingham,” Jones said.

The brainchild of Jones and her sister Leigh Sloss-Corra, FOOD+Culture was established as a nonprofit organization by Sloss Real Estate, The Market at Pepper Place, FRED Communication by Design, the International Association of Culinary Professionals and other champions of Birmingham.

After a reveal party in 2022, the festival officially launched in 2023 with the goals of celebrating Birmingham’s diverse culinary community, bringing together people from various backgrounds, shining a spotlight on culinary talent in Birmingham and Alabama and creating more opportunities and economic growth for the region. That first year, the festival hosted visitors from 18 states and featured 72 participating chefs and 15 mixologists and sommeliers.

“Since 2022, FOOD+ has worked hard to uplift our chefs and neighbors, providing a platform for sharing delicious food and meaningful conversation,” Jones said. “We’re proud to have become an award-winning festival and Birmingham’s biggest party.”

Previously spanning four days, the festival has featured large family-style outdoor dinners, events to honor women in the culinary scene and celebrate Black chefs, a tailgate-style barbecue bash and Sunday brunch events. Past festivals have also featured storytelling events highlighting local poets and writers.

Additionally, the festival launched the Frank Stitt Award for Industry Excellence.

The Southbound Food Festival will remain at Birmingham’s Pepper Place commercial district and the historic Sloss Furnaces landmark. The festival will also continue to partner with Southern Living for its Food & Fire event, which celebrates live-fire cooking and Southern tailgate culture.

“We are thrilled to be part of this incredible festival again,” said Sid Evans, editor-in-chief of Southern Living. “With a new name and an expanded mission, Southbound Food Festival will bring culinary fans from far and wide to experience the magic food culture of this city.”

The updated brand, created by Birmingham-based creative studio Matey, also includes a new tagline: A 10-day celebration of Birmingham’s magnetic food culture.

“We see this festival as an invitation: a celebration put on by and for Birmingham – and a summons for visitors to head south and experience what makes our city truly magic,” Jones said.

Tickets and a full schedule of events will be available starting July 7 at SouthboundFoodFest.com.