On any given weekend in Florida, there’s probably a food festival happening within the state—whether it celebrates a holiday, specific food or style of cooking. Somewhere in between Plant City’s annual springtime celebration of strawberries and the Sunshine State’s plethora of seafood fests in the fall and winter, lies the Tampa Bay Collard Green Festival.
Now in its seventh year, this locally-organized festival has built a reputation for being far more than a run-of-the-mill foodie event. Organizers Samantha Harris and Boyzell Hosey are on the precipice of hosting yet another day-long celebration of community, nourishment, health, wellness and Black culture.
What started as a joke between church friends in 2017 has evolved into a no-cover, Tampa Bay-wide festivity full of dozens of local vendors and food trucks, a variety of healthy cooking and fitness demonstrations, a collard green cook-off, live entertainment, fresh collard giveaways, and urban agriculture education. A presentation from two-time James Beard Award winner