Food and Wine Festivals are becoming major attractions all over the world, and depending on what you want to experience, there are some great feasts to choose from –  If you want live music and BBQ, check out the Austin Food and Wine Festival. If you prefer all the glitz and glam, head to Vegas Uncork’d. If mingling with Top Chef winners is more your style, then the Food and Wine Classic in  Aspen is for you.

But if you want the largest, entirely Canadian food and wine fest, then you need to stay right here in Edmonton and get tickets to the Northern Lands: The Great Canadian Wine and Beer Adventure! The goal of the festival is to raise the profile and awareness of the great things happening in Canadian food and wine, which fits beautifully with my goal to eat and drink every tasty thing I can get my hands on.

Northern Lands is 2 days of merriment which, when broken down, looks something like this…

• Producer Dinners – Friday March 27, 2015: Some of the best chefs in Edmonton and guest chefs from across Canada team up with Canadian Wine and Craft Beer makers to create unique dining experiences at some of Edmonton’s most popular restaurants. There are plenty of dinners to choose from and a wide range of price points to suit most budgets. You can find a full listing of the dinners here.

• Meet your Makers event – Saturday March 28, 2015: This is the main event of the festival and your chance to rub elbows with the producers and chef’s themselves – including esteemed chef and Chopped Canada judge, Vikram Vij and the first Top Chcf Canada winner, Dale Mackay, not to mention sample all the delicious Canadian food, wine, craft beer and spirits you can handle. It’s an all-inclusive event, which I love, so once you buy your ticket you can just relax and enjoy the night. Tickets are $85 each, or you can upgrade to the limited quantity VIP ticket for $150. The VIP ticket gets you in early so you can get a more intimate experience with the producers, plus includes a bonus tasting from Edmonton’s amazingly delicious Duchess Bake Shop. You can get your tickets to the event here.

• Seminars – Details of the seminars are yet to be announced, but when they are you’ll find info here.

So now that you’re excited about this all-Canadian Food and Drink festival, how can y’all help make it a roaring success? I mean besides eating and drinking all these producers have to offer? Northern Lands has taken a unique approach to funding this celebration of the best in Canadian food, wine, beer, and spirits by initiating an Indiegogo crowd-funding campaign.

Through the campaign you can participate in a number of ways, from simply donating to the festival, to sponsoring a participating chef or producer. The funds are to be used to help the chef’s purchase local products to use in their dishes, and to help cover the costs of bringing National and International Food and Wine Writers to Edmonton, who provide valuable exposure for the festival, the City of Edmonton, and the Canadian producers.

The festival will also raise funds for the next generation of chefs by splitting all net proceeds from the Meet Your Makers Grand Tasting on March 28 between two local community organizations: the High School Culinary Challenge (provides scholarship and apprenticeship opportunities to young people wishing to pursue a career in the culinary field, thus ensuring the sustainability of the industry) and the Edmonton Community Foundation Grateful Palate Fund (an endowment fund that grants to charities whose main purpose is to feed people).”

Check the website for event listings and get your tickets.