As we find ourselves looking ahead to another new year, wondering how 2010 is going to unfold I can't help but find myself doing a quick recollection of some of the highlights of last year. How does the saying go again, you can't know where you're headed unless you know where you've been, or something like that.

Who else made it to Memphis in May for the World Chamionship BBQ Cooking Contest last year ? Talk about an event that pulls in so many of the best cook teams and organizes so well from both the participant as well as the visitor's perspectives. And what about the Annual Chowder Festival in Portsmouth, New Hampshire last June where the crowds spiked up in recognition of its 25th silver anniversary? And even the late summer rain in Pinson, during the Alabama Butterbean Festival couldn't dampen the fun which we and the several thousand other folks who went experienced.

So its true, by recalling where I went last year to celebrate regional food events I am now in the proper mind to happily look at the upcoming festivals in 2010 to begin mapping out a course. Wild Country Foods is going to make sure that we let you know where the especially good ones are going to be this year. Be it the Frog Leg Festival in Fellsmere, Florida; or the 51st Annual Rattlesnake Roundup out in Sweetwater, Texas in March; or even the 17th Annual Salsa Festival later in July in Oxnard, California - WCF is getting the word out.

We vet the event, talk to the organizers, listen to people who participate by cooking or by visiting, ask the questions which people have but often don't know how to get them answered. Count on Wild Country Foods to serve as a good source of information because quite frankly, I want to know the exact same kinds of things that you want to know. Where is the event, what's going to be there, where do I park, do I have to pay to get in ?

And by the way, is it just me or does it seem a tad strange that we saw the end of two different Pecan Festivals last year ? Both the Georgia Pecan Festival and the Chuchillo Pecan Festival out in New Mexico won't be happening this year. In this economy it probably isn't the last we're going to hear about events biting the bullet in 2010. Which is why WCF places even more reliance on openly communicating with festival organizers.

So go ahead and bookmark us and visit on a regular basis to see what events are coming up and to share your opinions about events that you visited. I think its going to be a great year for food festivals because quite frankly, food gives us comfort. And in these trying times, people value the genuiness of food festivals and appreciate the opportunity to celebrate that which gives us all comfort.