Culinary Tours and Events

Sometimes the best way to experience a place is by sampling its food. If you want to plan your visit to Albany around a special culinary event, you’re in luck — Oregonians have a remarkable food culture, and Albany is home to many culinary tours and events.

Photo of different cheeses on board with fruit.

Mid-Willamette Valley Food Trail: Over the last decade, knowing the source of our food and drink, and the makers who craft our brews (or the chefs who prepare our meals) has become increasingly important to travelers. Over 50 businesses are represented on the Mid-Willamette Valley Food Trail, a collection of local eateries, farms, brewers and distillers and other sites highlighting our food-to-table connection. Download Mid-Willamette Valley Food Trail PDF, or pick up a paper copy at the AVA. Settle into a cabin at an actual working farm stay, help bottle feed baby lambs, pluck your own blueberries from the fields or indulge in a scrumptious farm-to-table dinner. You can spend several days building your itinerary as you pass through some of the most scenic countryside in Linn and Benton counties. To start your adventure, request a Trail brochure at the AVA, 541-928-0911, featuring participating businesses, maps and sample itineraries or view the Mid-Willamette Valley Food Trail PDF. Other food trails can be found at traveloregon.com. Or, download our free Albany Explorer app at either Google Play or the Apple Store to find more fun and interesting places to visit, shop and eat.

Albany Wine Walk: If you enjoy architecture and fine wine, this is your chance to sample both. This wine tasting from Northwest winemakers is held the first Friday in May each year in downtown Albany, home to dozens of historic buildings.

Craft Brew Smackdown: Annual celebration of craft beer that brings local brewers to the streets of Downtown Albany each September, sponsored by the Greater Albany Rotary Club and the Albany Downtown Association. Breweries, cider houses, distilleries and wineries set up in Downtown small business storefronts so that the public can taste beer and cider and visit with local business owners.

Greater Albany Rotary Club Crab Fest: Dungeness crab is one of the Northwest’s greatest culinary delights: mouth-watering, tender and caught just off the Oregon Coast. The GARC Crab Fest is an early February all-you-can eat feast on these local delicacies, and it raises money for local non-profits.

Lebanon Strawberry Festival: Taste a piece of the World’s Largest Strawberry Shortcake at this annual community celebration in Lebanon. Held each year in June, it’s been celebrating sweet, Oregon-grown berries for more than 100 years.

Mid-Valley Brewfest: The two-day event is held in October in Historic Downtown Albany has it all – beer, wine, spirits, live music, food trucks, and yard games! All proceeds benefit the Boys & Girls Club of Albany.

The Taste: This annual event is a fundraiser benefiting the YMCA’s Enrichment Programs, giving them the ability to continue to serve the community by giving scholarships for memberships, day camp, and programs. An auction featuring items donated by local businesses is also held.

Federweisser Festival: This annual shindig at Springhill Cellars, held the Friday-through-Sunday after Thanksgiving, is German in origin and pairs new, still fermenting Riesling (the Federweisser) with specially made bratwürst and Zwiebelkuchen, a sweet onion tart. The oom-pah-pah music drifts through the air during the day, and at night a floor-stomping barn dance kicks off with a live rock-n-roll band.

Library Uncorked: The event in early May is a wine/beer tasting along with a silent auction, music, food, wine wall and spin the bottle, all to support  children’s literacy.

Albany Taps and Caps: This early-March event is presented by several Albany breweries and taprooms to benefit Furniture Share.

Mixology Madness: Albany Downtown’s one of a kind cocktail party is a fundraiser for the Albany Downtown Association. Sample a wonderful assortment of creative cocktails by local mixologists, who compete in numerous contests categories like Best Original Cocktail and Best Classic Cocktail. Enjoy appetizers at one of Albany’s fine eating establishments, and find great packages in a silent auction.

Downtown Albany Restaurant Week: Choose from dozens of options at Downtown Albany restaurants, from breakfast to dinner, with each eatery offering Restaurant Week specials during this late-April event. Choose to dine i, sit outside or get it to-go! Reservations are highly recommended.

Mid-Willamette Valley Food Trail

Over the last decade, knowing the source of our food and drink, and the makers who craft our brews (or the chefs who prepare our meals) has become increasingly important to travelers. Over 50 businesses are represented on the Mid-Willamette Valley Food Trail, a collection of local eateries, farms, brewers and distillers and other sites highlighting our food-to-table connection. Settle into a cabin at an actual working farm stay, help bottle feed baby lambs, pluck your own blueberries from the fields or indulge in a scrumptious farm-to-table dinner. You can spend several days building your itinerary as you pass through some of the most scenic countryside in Linn and Benton counties. To start your adventure, request a Trail brochure at the AVA, 541-928-0911, featuring participating businesses, maps and sample itineraries. Other food trails can be found at traveloregon.com. Or, download our free Albany Explorer app at either Google Play or the Apple Store to find more fun and interesting places to visit, shop and eat.