Global Food and Farm Festival

2026 Event Information

Tours, Experiences, and Workshops for the whole family!

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The Global Food & Farm Festival on WINK News
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In our recent interview with WINK News, our team shares how the Global Food & Farm Festival brings together learning, agriculture, and community impact.

Make time to join us for incredible experiences for all ages on the farm!

Festival Location:
17391 Durrance Road, North Fort Myers, FL 33917

Farm Day (Saturday)

Saturday, March 14

Additional Workshop Days

January 17 – April 11
(Selected Days)

Saturday, March 14th, 2026

Saturday Farm Day – 9am – 3pm – Spend the day exploring our 57-acre Global Farm, where you’ll step into tropical rainforest demonstrations, discover creative approaches to alternative energy, and experience hands-on learning for all ages. Kids and adults alike can taste, touch, and explore their way around the world while learning about global hunger and the practical solutions that make a difference.

This special Saturday event offers a festival-style atmosphere—wander the farm at your own pace, enjoy educational activities, meet our team, and take in a full day of discovery. Food trucks will be available on-site for lunch.

Food Trucks

  • Red Roc Cravings
  • Dave’s Neapolitan Pizza
  • Sunny Days Ice Cream

Ticket Prices

  • Ages 6+: $7/person
    (at the door price $10)
  • Child (age 0-5): FREE
    (discounts applied at checkout)
Get Farm Day Tickets

Advance ticket sales end FRIDAY MARCH 13 at 3:00 PM. To get your tickets in advance please be sure to pre-register before that date/time. You will still be able to purchase tickets at the door on Saturday! 

Workshops, Interactive Demonstrations & Live-On-Stage Cooking Shows:

  • Sugar Cane & Peanut Butter Tasting
  • Wool Spinning 
  • Microscope Exploration
  • Tomatoes – challenges of fruitfulness for SWFL
  • Seed Saving
  • Regenerative Practices for Edible Landscapes
  • Compost Building
  • Cooking Shows
  • And MORE

Additional Workshop Days

This year we have exciting news! We are extending our workshop experiences beyond the festival!

Join us in January, February, March and April for a hands-on workshop and end the morning with a Tropical Tasting Lunch!

Saturday, January 17th, 2026

9:30 am – ECHO Tour

Tour Information & Tickets

10:00 am – Regenerative Practices for Edible Landscapes

$25 - Get Tickets

Southwest Florida presents a variety of unique challenges for home gardeners.  Poor drainage, sandy and infertile soils, salt inundations, high pH water, and winter frost among others can lead to poor growth and discouragement as you struggle to help your plants survive.  Regenerative approaches to agriculture harness the ability of natural systems to restore and rebuild soil fertility, organic matter, and biodiversity over time.  Ecovision incorporates some of these practices into their edible landscape design and management, and is encouraged by the results.  Come learn about how you can use regenerative practices in your edible landscape, as well as share your experience.

12:00 pm – Tropical Garden Lunch

$25 - Get Tickets

Enjoy lunch in the gardens’ open air classroom. Lunch includes Carambola punch, fresh garden salad, quinoa salad with fresh tomatoes and black beans, jasmine rice with roasted red pepper sauce,  shredded chicken salad on a croissants or pita bread, seasonal fruit skewers  and avocado cake topped with whipped cream.  

You can also register for a tour at Echo Global before lunch or join the workshop offered in the morning.

Saturday, February 21st, 2026

9:30 am – ECHO Tour

Tour Information & Tickets

10:00 am – Urban Gardening

$20 - Get Tickets

Urban Gardening is growing plants and vegetables by utilizing limited spaces like balconies, rooftops, and windowsills through methods like container gardening, vertical systems, or community plots. This offers benefits such as fresh food access, improved air quality, and stress relief. In this workshop, we will learn how to make a container planter and look at the Urban Garden demonstration at the ECHO farm. We will use little to no soil and use recycled materials to make your planters.

12:00 pm – Tropical Garden Lunch

$25 - Get Tickets

Enjoy lunch in the gardens’ open air classroom. Lunch includes Carambola punch, fresh garden salad, quinoa salad with fresh tomatoes and black beans, jasmine rice with roasted red pepper sauce,  shredded chicken salad on a croissants or pita bread, seasonal fruit skewers  and avocado cake topped with whipped cream.  

You can also register for a tour at Echo Global before lunch or join the workshop offered in the morning.

1:30pm – ECHO Tour

Tour Information & Tickets

Wednesday, March 18, 2026

9:30 am – ECHO Tour

Tour Information & Tickets

10:00 am – Walking Tour – The Beekeeping Experience (Beginner)

$15 - Get Tickets

Join Expert Steve Eisele on a walking tour of ECHO’s beehives. Want to be more self-sufficient? Want to connect with nature? Learn the basics about keeping bees, or just learn more about these fascinating creatures that mean so much for our ecosystem! This is a beginners level tour. 

10:00 am – Walking Tour – Summer Ideas for SWFL Gardens!

$30 - Get Tickets

Growing in Southwest FL is not like growing in Northern states, as you probably know. In this workshop, the instructor will walk through some options for managing your garden in the hot, humid summer months. Options will include various cover crops, a few highlighted tropical crops, and pest management in the off-season. Participants will take home 3 packets of SWFL summer-appropriate seeds to try at home: a legume, a leafy green, and a vegetable.

12:00 pm – Tropical Garden Lunch

$25 - Get Tickets

Enjoy lunch in the gardens’ open air classroom. Lunch includes Carambola punch, fresh garden salad, quinoa salad with fresh tomatoes and black beans, jasmine rice with roasted red pepper sauce,  shredded chicken salad on a croissants or pita bread, seasonal fruit skewers  and avocado cake topped with whipped cream.  

You can also register for a tour at Echo Global before lunch or join the workshop offered in the morning.

 

1:30pm – ECHO Tour

Tour Information & Tickets

1:30 pm – Walking Tour – The Beekeeping Experience (Intermediate)

$15 - Get Tickets

Join Expert Steve Eisele on a walking tour of ECHO’s beehives. Want to be more self-sufficient? Want to connect with nature? Learn the basics about keeping bees, or just learn more about these fascinating creatures that mean so much for our ecosystem! This is an intermediate level tour.

1:30 pm – How to Grow and Use Moringa

$20 - Get Tickets

Moringa is a fast-growing tree that produces nutritious leaves with many health benefits. The leaves can be eaten fresh or dry. In this workshop, you’ll learn how to grow, harvest, and utilize moringa leaves. There will be a hands-on opportunity to convert dried moringa leaves into high-quality powder that can be stored and incorporated into various foods.

Thursday, March 19, 2026

9:30 am – ECHO Tour

Tour Information & Tickets

10:00 am – Gardening with Mushrooms

$20 - Get Tickets

Discover how fungi can transform your garden! In this hands-on workshop, participants will learn the basics of using mushroom spawn to grow edible mushrooms on logs and in compost, wood chips, and mulch. We’ll explore practical techniques for integrating mushrooms into your garden ecosystem, creating productive beds that recycle organic matter and boost biodiversity.

Beyond growing mushrooms, you’ll learn how fungal networks improve soil health by enhancing nutrient cycling and water retention. We’ll also cover how certain mushrooms can help manage pests naturally, reducing the need for chemical interventions. Whether you’re a home gardener or a sustainability enthusiast, this class offers actionable strategies to harness the power of fungi for a healthier, more resilient garden. 

10:00 am – Getting Started Raising Goats

$10 - Get Tickets

Getting Started Raising Goats is a practical workshop focused on helping new or aspiring goat owners learn the basics of raising goats. Participants will learn about factors to consider when selecting goats, such as breed, purpose, and structural traits, as well as housing and management needs, recognizing unhealthy goats, hoof trimming, and the basics of breeding and kidding. Come join us to gain the knowledge and confidence for raising healthy, productive goats!

12:00 pm – Tropical Garden Lunch

$25 - Get Tickets

Enjoy lunch in the gardens’ open air classroom. Lunch includes Carambola punch, fresh garden salad, quinoa salad with fresh tomatoes and black beans, jasmine rice with roasted red pepper sauce,  shredded chicken salad on a croissants or pita bread, seasonal fruit skewers  and avocado cake topped with whipped cream.  

You can also register for a tour at Echo Global before lunch or join the workshop offered in the morning.

 

1:30pm – ECHO Tour

Tour Information & Tickets

1:30 pm – Seed Saving for Gardeners

$20 - Get Tickets

Covered will be how to successfully save seeds from your own garden. This will include Botany 101: biological fundamentals, flower anatomy, pollination, how to plan for seed saving, harvesting and processing, and seed storage. This will include a workshop presentation on seed saving along with a seed packet with varieties that are not readily available in stores.

1:30 pm – The nuts and bolts of Fecal Egg Counts (FEC) for parasite detection in your animals

$20 - Get Tickets

How do you know if your sheep or goat needs to be dewormed?  And how do you know if the dewormer that you use, whether natural or commercial, is effective?  Come join us for this practical, hands-on workshop which will demonstrate from start to finish the use of a Fecal Egg Count test, in conjunction with clinical signs, to know if and when your animal should be dewormed.

Saturday, April 11, 2026

9:30 am – ECHO Tour

Tour Information & Tickets

10:00 am – Invasive Species of Florida

$10 - Get Tickets

Bring the whole family and discover the wild side of Florida! This engaging, family-friendly workshop explores the fascinating exotic species now calling Florida home and how they affect our gardens and native ecosystems. With interactive learning and age-appropriate discussion, it’s a fun and educational experience for curious kids and adults alike. Perfect for all ages — come learn together!

10:00 am – Mini Food Forests for SWFL: Designing Food Forests for Small Spaces

$20 - Get Tickets

Tim Watkins and Eric Frankovitch with Ecovision will be presenting on the concept of miniature food forests for standard sized properties in Southwest Florida. This workshop will focus on adapting the concept of a food forest, which typically requires a large lot size, to smaller properties with only a back or side yard to work with. Plant selection and placement become very important with smaller spaces, making design even more essential. Ecovision has created a number of mini food forests for various clients and will be sharing some insights and design principles. If you are looking for ideas and direction for your edible landscape, consider attending this workshop and learn from the experience of the Ecovision staff. 

12:00 pm – Tropical Garden Lunch

$25 - Get Tickets

Enjoy lunch in the gardens’ open air classroom. Lunch includes Carambola punch, fresh garden salad, quinoa salad with fresh tomatoes and black beans, jasmine rice with roasted red pepper sauce,  shredded chicken salad on a croissants or pita bread, seasonal fruit skewers  and avocado cake topped with whipped cream.  

You can also register for a tour at Echo Global before lunch or join the workshop offered in the morning.

 

1:30pm – ECHO Tour

Tour Information & Tickets

About the Global Farm Tour

Our Global Farm is anything but typical. Through our tour, you’ll experience farming at its most creative, with unique demonstrations, plants, and techniques being used to help farmers and urban gardeners in developing countries.

Our farm features seven distinct settings, each with its own unique crops, techniques, and animals from around the world. ECHO is home to one of the largest collections of tropical food plants in the United States. Our Urban Garden is a tour standout, featuring some unconventional yet effective methods for growing crops in areas with limited to no soil.

Register For A Farm Tour (Ticketed Separately)