Join us on October 26th from 9 AM to 8 PM for the inaugural Datil Fest at the Riverfront, Palatka!

Datil Fest will be the biggest datil pepper event ever!

Boosting:

The largest gathering of datil pepper products ever assembled in one place!

Fresh datil peppers by Revels Pepper Co. and yours truly.

Amateur Homemade Datil Showdown! Test your homegrown talents and family secrets!

Datil Pepper Growers Workshop: Palatka's UF/IFAS is proud to be hosting a panel of datil pepper experts offering tips, techniques and solutions to the toughest questions.

Professional Culinary Competition: Local restaurants and chefs compete to win the inaugural Datil Fest Championship!

Culinary Datil Taste Experience: The chefs creations are judged by attendees and voted on.

Riverfront Kids Zone: Interactive Inflatable Fun + Face Painting.

Velchoff’s Corner VIP Pass: elevated Datil Delights inside AND rooftop of the beautiful St Johns River Center.

Food Trucks: we plan a diverse gathering of different local food truck vendors. 

Live Music - Get ready for an unforgettable night of music featuring some of Northeast Florida's finest talent!

Datil Fest is perfect for datil pepper enthusiasts and families alike. Enjoy a wide variety of datil pepper vendors, thrilling competitions, food trucks, VIP Perks, a culinary tasting experience, live music, and refreshing beverages—including cold beer! We even have a kids' play area! Don't miss out on this family fun-filled day!

Events Schedule

Datil Pepper Vendors

9am-5pm

Datil Fest is The Ultimate Celebration of the Datil Pepper! The largest gathering of datil pepper products ever assembled in one place! Discover an extensive selection of hot sauces, jams & jellies, mustards, relishes, BBQ sauces & rubs, marinades, vinegars, mayonnaises, salsas, dips and more. Additionally, Mayhem Datil Pepper Farms and Revels Pepper Co. will have an abundant supply of fresh heirloom datil peppers available.

Food Trucks

9am-8pm

We have planned a diverse gathering of different types of local food truck vendors. They will be adding their own datil creations for you to try! Don't worry, not everything will be hot! We will add the Food Trucks to the website as we can.

Velchoff's VIP Pass

9am-8pm

Velchoff’s Corner is set to astonish you with elevated Datil Delights inside AND rooftop of the beautiful St Johns River Center.

Only 100 passes are available, so order soon on the VIP page!

Riverfront Kids Zone

9am-5pm

Interactive Inflatable Fun + Face Painting. Sponsored by Putnam Classical Academy

Datil Pepper Growers Workshop

10am-11:30am

Palatka's UF/IFAS is proud to be hosting a panel of datil pepper experts, offering valuable tips and techniques for cultivating and expanding a thriving community of datil pepper gardeners and enthusiasts.

Amateur Homemade Datil Showdown

12pm-1:30pm

Join us for the Ultimate Showdown of Homegrown Datilly Creativity!

Limited spots, so enter today on the Amateur Contest page!

Culinary

Datil Taste Experience & Competition

1pm-4pm

Local restaurants and chefs compete to win your vote tasting up to 24 different datil pepper tapa-sized appetizers and alcoholic beverages! Do not miss your chance to vote for the Datil Fest Champions. Get your tickets today!

Live Music

2pm-8pm

Get ready for an unforgettable night of music featuring some of Northeast Florida's finest talent! A lively diverse mix of swampy blues, rock, jazz, folk, and bluegrass will have everyone on their feet!

We will deliver a performance full of humor, high-energy, and raw intensity. It’s a night you won’t want to miss! 

Jelly Rollers 2pm - 3pm

Jelly Rollers are a Putnam county based string band playing a lively mix of pre war blues, early jazz, and old-time folk tunes. Their front-porch repertoire includes both covers of forgotten hits and period inspired original compositions. Jellyrollers are Jess Luchtel on washboard and percussion, George Liabl on bass and mandolin, and Todd Cooney on guitar and banjo.

Wes Cobb

3:30pm - 4:30 pm

Wes Cobb brings a mix of swampy, low-country blues and rock and a damn good time whenever he takes the stage. Wes is a staple of the Northeast Florida music scene and is guaranteed to have you stompin’ your feet and hollering for more!

The Bryce Alastair Band

5pm-6pm

The Bryce Alastair Band is an original blues, rock, americana and roots band based out of Jacksonville, FL since it's inception in 2007. Bryce Alastair is a singer-songwriter hailing from Marion Springs, MI who quickly found a home in the Northeast Florida music scene. The current lineup consists of Bryce Alastair with Jacksonville natives Jon Deering, Jack Ringca, Ernie Douglass and Brent Berryman. All veterans on the Northeast Florida scene. The band has strong family values, and those values can be felt while watching this dynamic group of performers play together live.

Grandpa's Cough Medicine

6:30pm - 8pm

Grandpa's Cough Medicine brings politically incorrect lyrics that make other bluegrass acts look like disney princesses. Instrumental prowess that will drop your jaw. Tempos and themes that will give you heart palpitations.

Fronted by award-winning flat picker Brett Bass, Benny McDowell on banjo, and Rex Putnam on upright bass, Grandpa's Cough Medicine is an unsanctioned nuclear warhead. Tongue-in-cheek humor, scathing social commentary, unbridled savagery, and a heavy metal attitude paint their original songs with blood, booze, and testosterone.

Festival Date:  October 26, 2024; 9 AM to 8 PM 

Location:  Riverfront, Palatka, FL

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