What’s better than a weekend full of good food, drinks, and company? A festival that includes all three. The Fort Worth Food + Wine Festival (FWFWF) returns to the Heart of the Ranch at Clearfork for four delicious days and nights from Thursday, April 9 to Sunday, April 12. Tickets are available to purchase, but act fast because early admission will most likely sell out.

Dine under the stars at the Heart of the Ranch at Clearfork. | Photo by Nancy Farrar via FWFWF

Tastiest tickets in town

FWFWF will showcase bites from local chefs along with 100+ wines, craft beers, and spirits. Bonus: Your ticket covers all the food and beverages you can (responsibly) consume. Here is the lineup:

Thursday, April 9
Tacos + Tequila | 6:30-9 p.m. | $75 | Come out of your shell at this event — we think the name speaks for itself. Hurry — because early admission is already sold out.

Friday, April 10
The Main Event | 6:30-9 p.m. | $145 | Peruse 100+ vendors featuring small plates from local chefs paired with endless beer, wine, and cocktail samples. Early admission is sold out.

Saturday, April 11
Fork + Fire | 6-9 p.m. | $105 | Smoked meats + open-flame cooking will accompany live music and drink samples.

Why we recommend this event — For the first time, FWFWF is inviting four top chefs from four of Texas' largest food festivals — Dallas' Chefs For Farmers Dallas Food + Wine Festival, Austin's Hot Luck Festival, + Houston's Southern Smoke Festival — to showcase their signature dishes on the Taste of Texas Row. We did the math so you don't have to — that's 16 new concepts making an appearance this year.

Guests will intentionally move through each section to sample distinct culinary voices from around the state. Fort Worth participating chefs include:

Chef Jenny Castor | Luckybee Kitchen
Chef Graham Elliot | Le Margot
Chef Marcus Paslay | From Scratch Hospitality
Chef Molly McCook | Ellerbe Fine Foods

Sunday, April 12
The Big Brunch | 12:30-3:30 p.m. | $95 | Taste and sip your way through this brunch-inspired feast to the soulful sounds of gossip music coming from two stages.

Note: Sorry kids, this festival is adults-only (21+). Pets, except for service animals, are not permitted.

Ride in style

Though parking is free, it's limited. New this year is the BMW shuttle service, running during festival hours between 5600 Clearfork Main St. and festival grounds.

The plates may be small, but the flavor profiles are huge. | Photo by FTWtoday

Community impact

The event will benefit the Fort Worth Food + Wine Foundation, a nonprofit that raises funds for local grant programs and culinary scholarships. The foundation has raised $325,000+ to date to support culinary students from Fort Worth.