Epcot's Food & Wine Festival 2009 preview

The 2009 Food & Wine Festival at Epcot begins Sept. 25 and Disney has released detailed information about this year's event. Same as every year, the six-week festival will feature fine cuisine, wines and other beverages that are sure to please foodies from all over.

Festival guests can enjoy the flavors of more than 25 international marketplaces dotting the World Showcase promenade highlighting tastes from cities on six continents, including Bologna, Italy; Bangkok, Thailand; Wellington, New Zealand; Santiago, Chile; Marrakesh, Morocco; Shanghai, China; and, from the United States - New Orleans.  Tapas-sized portions of regional specialties run $2 to $7 each, and recommended wines and beers make perfect pairings at each kiosk. Puglia, Italy, returns as a sponsor this year, presenting culinary demonstrations with regional chefs and showcasing Adventures of Pasta and Olive Oils.

Festival highlights include:
 
• Daily wine and beer tastings.
 
• A series of special culinary programs featuring a lineup of renowned winemakers, guest chefs and speakers participating in elegant dinners, luncheons, seminars and wine schools.
 
• New programs like Culinary Adventures in Signature Dining and Celebrating Family and Friends in the Kitchen.
 
• Popular returning events such as French Regional Lunches at Bistro de Paris in the France pavilion, Epcot Wine Schools, Food and Wine Pairings and Sweet Sundays.
 
• Some 250 chefs including Disney chefs and guest chefs from across the country.  Guest chefs scheduled to appear are Warren Brown, Cat Cora, Jamie and Bobby Deen, Keegan Gerhard, Jeff Henderson, Robert Irvine, Art Smith, Jacques Torres, Alan Wong, Andrew Zimmern and many other culinary stars.
 
• Weekly Party for the Senses grand tasting event with tempting bites from eminent chefs, more than 50 wines and beers and live entertainment - this year, for the first time, with a different theme each week.
 
• Festival Welcome Center, with a Champagne and Wine Bar, educational wine seminars, celebrity chef book signings, and festival keepsakes including exclusive festival pins and an official festival cookbook.

Epcot's live regional entertainment is scheduled throughout each day along the promenade and the festival's signature Eat to the Beat! concert series kicks the party up a couple of notches - featuring acts from many musical genres including classic rock, jazz, R&B, funk and soul. Concerts are performed three times each evening at America Gardens Theatre along the World Showcase lagoon.

Scheduled to appear on the Eat to the Beat! stage this year are such hit makers as Richard Marx ("Hold On to the Nights"), Billy Ocean ("Caribbean Queen"), En Vogue ("Free Your Mind") and Boyz II Men ("Motownphilly"). However, Disney notes that the artists and times may be subject to change.