Guy Fieri plans to debut Flavortown Fest, a two-day music and food festival, in Columbus
It seems we’re sticking with the name Columbus, despite the best efforts of that 2020 change.org petition.
But for a couple days next June, the city actually will become Flavortown, even if it’s only in spirit and not on our address labels.
And the undisputed king will be here to rule.
Celebrity chef, restaurateur, cookbook author, TV host and spiky-haired Columbus native Guy Fieri announced today that he’ll bring the first-ever Flavortown Fest – Guy Fieri’s Flavortown Fest, to be exact – to his hometown next year.
The event, according to organizers, “will fuse food and funk.” They describe it as “bold, loud, bad-a** and full of flavor.”
“Like Guy,” they added.
When is Flavortown Fest scheduled?
Flavortown Fest is scheduled for June 1 and 2, 2024, at The Lawn at CAS, which covers 54 acres between Olentangy River Road and the Olentangy River near the Ohio State University campus. Tickets start at $155 and are on sale now at flavortownfest.com.
More: ‘Flavortown’ to replace Columbus? Thousands want Ohio capital renamed for native Guy Fieri
The inaugural festival will feature food vendors, live music and demos. The lineup promises to include “Guy’s friends, chefs and some of his favorite music superstars,” according to early publicity. Organizers haven’t announced any acts yet, but in a 2019 interview with BroBible, Fieri listed some of his favorite music genres: country, new country, old-school hip-hop and jam bands. His favorite bands include Phish, Gypsy Kings and Metallica, and his celebrity friends include chefs Bobby Flay and Aaron Sanchez, actor Matthew McConaughey and musician Sammy Hagar.
“Flavortown Fest will offer the ultimate experience for foodies and fun-loving Fieri fans,” the announcement said. “Guests will experience a once-in-a-lifetime menu that screams flavor, set to the backdrop of epic live performances on the main music stage. Flavortown Fest is bound to surprise you at every turn just when you think you’ve seen it all.”
Fieri himself described the festival as “two full days of awesome music, the best chefs, real deal food from around the nation and a whole lotta fun that you’re gonna have to see to believe.”
“This festival will truly be the first of its kind and I couldn’t be more stoked to bring it to my original hometown,” he said.
A spotlight and helping hand for Columbus
There will be a charitable side to the festival, too. A portion of proceeds from ticket sales will go to central Ohio charities. The Guy Fieri Foundation's focus in on programs that help veterans, first responders, literacy efforts and culinary education.
More: All the 'Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives' restaurants Guy Fieri has visited in Ohio
Although he was raised in Ferndale, California, Fieri has been no stranger to Columbus, where he was born in 1968. He has featured local restaurants six times on his Food Network series, “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives,” and one of his own concepts – there are currently 17, from Guy’s Sammich Joint to Guy’s High Ball Lounge – is planned for El Dorado Gaming Scioto Downs on the Far South Side.
Four ghost kitchens operating under his Flavortown Kitchen label operated briefly in Columbus during 2021.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Guy Fieri to debut Flavortown Fest in Columbus in summer 2024
