A brand new food festival is headed to downtown Tampa next month, and the mission and ethos behind it is as inspiring as the cuisine itself.

Taking place at Tampa’s Perry Harvey Sr. Park at 1000 E Harrison St., the inaugural Food From the Soul festival happens on Saturday, March 25 from 11 a.m.-6 p.m.

According to its website, Food From the Soul is “a food festival and competition for Black and Indigenous people of color. The competition will be between African, African American, Asian, Caribbean, Hispanic/Latino, and Native American food.”

In addition to slinging their ethnicity’s eats to festival goers, each food vendor will also enter an over-arching, yet friendly, competition to see which cuisine ranks supreme.

Although there is no confirmed vendor list just yet, festival organizer Kimberly Jackson tells Creative Loafing Tampa Bay that there will be well over a dozen food vendors present, in addition to local businesses peddling their art, jewelry, crafts and other wares.

Dances, cultural performances and family-friendly activities will also take place at next month’s highly-anticipated event.
General admission tickets can be purchased from the festival’s website and cost $25 each. VIP tickets run for $125 but gives guests access to private VIP areas in addition to two free drinks, festival swag, exclusive food samples and wine pairings.

Children ages 17 and under can enter next month’s inaugural festival for $12.50.

While purchasing a ticket gets you inside of Food From the Soul festival, individual samples from its dozens of vendors will still run you $1-$3 each. And if you’re looking for a full-sized meal, vendors will also dish out entrees at their normal rates.

Festival organizer Kimberly Jackson is a Tampa Bay resident and founder of local public relations and event company KVJINC. She tells CL that she plans to host Food From the Soul in Tampa every year.

“I created this festival because I wanted to see cuisine from Black and Indigenous people of color be respected and recognized in its original state, as well as honored for the contributions we’ve made to food all over the world,” Jackson explains.

Proceeds from ticket sales will benefit two local organizations:Tampa Bay Vo-Tech High School’s Culinary Art Department and Professional Opportunities Program for Students (stylized as “POPS.”)

For more information about next month’s food and culture festival, head to its Facebook page or Instagram at @foodfromthesoulfestival, where a full list of both food and non-food vendors will be updated as the event nears closer.