The Atlanta Food & Wine Festival Returns

Midtown Atlanta is about to become a center of activity for Southern food, for the third year in a row.

The 2013 Atlanta Food & Wine Festival will begin on May 30, lasting until June 2 and aiming to please thousands of Southern cooking enthusiasts. More than a simple collection of tents and cooks, the festival is a diverse celebration of Southern culinary traditions, and this year will gather "chefs, mixologists, artisans, industry experts and enthusiasts," according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The festival was created in 2010 as the brainchild of Elizabeth Feichter and Dominique Love, two Atlanta entrepreneurial partners with a love for Southern cuisine. This year, the festival's events will include interactive seminars from culinary professionals at the Loews Atlanta Hotel, along with outdoor tented exhibits and a few special ticketed events at some of Atlanta's best restaurants, including KR SteakBar and Rathbun's. Some of these will also involve a focus on the food of Southern regions of other continents around the world, such as Europe and South America.

Detailed information about the 2013 Atlanta Food & Wine Festival can be found on its official website, along with options for buying tickets and multi-day passes.