Savor SoFlo Festival Delivers an Oceanfront Food and Beverage Experience to Hollywood Beach

This week, an up-and-coming food festival set on the sands of Hollywood Beach will return to South Florida.

The Savor SoFlo Festival will take over a portion of the beach for a two-day celebration on Saturday, April 1, and Sunday, April 2, directly behind the Margaritaville Hollywood Beach Resort.

The festival is unique for its beachfront locale set alongside the two-and-a-half-mile Hollywood Beach Boardwalk that features a variety of shops and restaurants along its path.

Taking place under two giant tents set in the sands of Hollywood Beach, Savor SoFlo is a feast for the senses, event founder and producer Tammy Gail tells New Times.

Now in its third year, the festival will offer local and visiting attendees a chance to hit the beach to savor some of South Florida's best food and drink while celebrating the area's local culinary and hospitality community.

The event will feature dozens of chefs, culinary personalities, restaurants, wine and spirits producers, and craft breweries within the festival's Grand Tasting Village. Attendees will be able to enjoy numerous interactive cooking demonstrations on the cooking stage featuring local and national chef talent throughout the weekend, as well as brand activations from presenting sponsor, Publix.

To date, participating local restaurants, breweries, and spirit brands include the Margaritaville restaurants, Lona Cocina & Tequileria, Toro Latin Kitchen, Snapper Mike's, Shabo's Mediterranean Barbecue, Twin Peaks South Florida, Tripping Animal Brewing Co., Funky Buddha Brewery, Islamorada Brewery & Distillery, and Coconut Cartel.
For Gail, Hollywood presented the perfect combination of ambiance, culinary diversity, and location for a South Florida-based food festival similar to her other events, Savor St. Pete and Cocoa Beach Uncorked.

"When it comes to the beach, people often think of Miami or Fort Lauderdale, and they forget there's this amazing city right smack in the middle," says Gail, who initially considered beaches from Boca Raton to Fort Lauderdale. "You need a lot of space for a festival like this — 30,000 square feet of tent — and there was really nowhere better than Hollywood."

Presented alongside beachfront partner hotel and resort, Margaritaville Hollywood, Gail also hopes Savor SoFlo will become a way for local food lovers to experience all the festival weekend has to offer.

"From the boardwalk to the beaches, it makes for the ultimate staycation, right here in your own backyard," sums up Gail. "This event is to really showcase what Hollywood is all about. The culinary scene is amazing, and we hope to shine a spotlight on everything that makes this city unique."

Tickets to the Savor SoFlo Festival are all-inclusive, offering guests unlimited access to food wine, and beer samplings; DJ entertainment; a limited-edition wine glass and lanyard; and a custom tote bag. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Broward Health Foundation, and in support of Hollywood Beach's sustainability efforts to reduce its environmental impact, participating vendors will be using compostable or biodegradable materials.

General admission is priced at $95 per person and gives guests access to the event from 1 to 4 p.m., while VIP tickets are available for $135 per person and include early entry to the event at noon, as well as exclusive access to the event's VIP spirits lounge and samplings from premium brands available exclusively to VIP ticket holders. Tickets can be purchased online at savorsoflo.com.

Savor SoFlo Festival. 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, April 1, and Sunday, April 2, at 357 Johnson St., Hollywood; savorsoflo.com. Tickets cost $95 to $135.