Busch Gardens Tampa Bay Adds Concerts To Food and Wine Festival

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay announced today their concert list for the 2021 Food and Wine Festival at the theme park. The weekend festival runs each Friday through Sunday, now through April 25 and features more than 110 food dishes and drinks available to guests .

The Festival Field Stage will host headlining national acts every Saturday in March and April, plus Friday, April 2, giving two limited-capacity performances each day, while over at the Coke Canopy, local talent will take the stage daily throughout the festival.

Enhanced health and safety measures will be in place for performers and guests alike.

The theme parks says that in addition to increased cleaning and sanitation, temperature checks, and face covering requirements, capacity will also be significantly limited in order to create more open space, allowing guests to maintain physical distancing in a safe environment.

“Since our reopening in June, our park teams have safely and successfully hosted multiple productions at our spacious outdoor venues,” said Neal Thurman, Park President for Busch Gardens Tampa Bay and Adventure Island.

“Through creativity, adaptability and dedication to guest safety, our staff made it possible for park-goers to once again enjoy live music from some of their favorite artists.”

VIP packages are available and include physically distanced premium concert seating and a 5-item Sampler Lanyard. Premium seating packages and the full event menu are available now at buschgardens.com/tampa/events/food-and-wine-festival/.

The list of acts includes:

• Saturday, March 6: Phillip Phillips
• Saturday, March 13: Parmalee
• Saturday, March 20: Dylan Scott
• Saturday, March 27: 38 Special
• Friday, April 2: Sugar Ray
• Saturday, April 3: Sister Hazel
• Saturday, April 10: LOCASH
• Saturday, April 17: Tito Nieves
• Saturday, April 24: Starship Feat. Mickey Thomas

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has a number of guidance directives available for event gatherings on their website including staying home if you feel sick and wearing masks while maintaining social distancing.

Recently events were canceled in Tampa including Gasparilla and Riverfest due to COVID-19 concerns. The Florida State Fair has been moved to April, while the Strawberry Festival is going on in March as planned.

Big crowds seen during the Super Bowl in Tampa created concerns about a potential superspreader event and the new virus variants that are being seen as prevalent in Florida. Currently there are 3,908 people hospitalized in Florida from COVID-19 and about 79,021 people have been hospitalized throughout the pandemic. There have been over 30,000 COVID-19 deaths in Florida so far.