GastroFest Rionegro 2026: Antioquia Food Festival Near Medellín, July 18–20

The GastroFest Rionegro 2026 calendar date is now set: July 18, 19, and 20 at Parque del Bienestar Comfama in Llanogrande, the green-lawn event grounds on the Rionegro altiplano that hosted last year’s edition. If you are based in Medellín — or passing through José María Córdova Airport — the venue is roughly 45 minutes by road and makes a clean day trip, or even a short overnight stay if you want to cover all three days.

The full name is GastroFest “Sabores de mi Tierra”, and the organizers behind gastrofestoficial.com describe it as Colombia’s leading platform for promoting authentic flavors, culinary traditions, and food entrepreneurship from Oriente Antioqueño — the mountainous subregion east of Medellín that includes Rionegro, Marinilla, El Retiro, and El Peñol.

What GastroFest Rionegro 2026 Covers

The programming is organized into named experience zones, consistent with the model used in the 2025 edition, which Acontecer Metropolitano reported was projected to draw more than 12,000 visitors and generate an estimated 600 million pesos in regional economic activity.

Paseo Gastronómico Sabores del Oriente is the heart of the festival — a tour of vendors serving both traditional Paisa staples and contemporary takes on regional ingredients, from arepas and chicharrón to modern preparations using native corn, panela, and fresh mountain produce.

Mercados Campesinos Raíces del Oriente is the farmers’ market component, bringing together rural producers from across Eastern Antioquia to sell directly to visitors. Expect fresh cheese, honey, preserves, coffee, and cultivated vegetables that rarely show up in Medellín’s supermarkets.

Escuela del Sabor: Aprende y Cocina is a live cooking-class area featuring workshops led by invited chefs. Participation details and scheduling have not been confirmed for the 2026 edition as of this writing; check gastrofestoficial.com for updated session times as the date approaches.

Café, Vino y Cerveza rounds out the sensory programming with tastings and pairings that showcase local coffee production — Oriente Antioqueño sits within Colombia’s coffee belt — alongside regional craft beer and wine selections.

Beyond food, the festival adds live music, cultural performances, a picnic zone, and a dedicated children’s area. MiOriente has described GastroFest as centering its identity on “tradition, identity, and essence” — a deliberate effort to position Oriente Antioqueño as a destination-grade culinary territory, not just a backdrop for airport layovers.

The Chef Revelación Competition

One feature worth flagging for food-focused visitors is the Chef Revelación competition, in which emerging culinary talents compete using recipes anchored in Eastern Antioquia’s flavors. Details on the 2026 competitor roster and judging format had not been announced publicly as of July 2, 2026; H13 Noticias covered the 2025 edition of the competition if you want a sense of how it is structured.

Admission and Registration

Entry to GastroFest is free, but organizers require prior registration through the official website. Exhibitor and vendor registration information is available at gastrofestoficial.com.

Getting There From Medellín

Parque del Bienestar sits in the Llanogrande area of Rionegro, a short drive from José María Córdova International Airport — the same road you would take to or from the airport. From central Medellín the drive runs approximately 45 minutes to an hour depending on traffic at the La Ceja or La Quiebra sections of the autopista. Buses to Rionegro depart from Terminal del Norte in Medellín; from Rionegro you can take local transport toward Llanogrande or arrange a taxi or ride-share for the final stretch to the park.

If you have a rental car from the airport, Llanogrande is effectively on your route in or out of the city.

Why This Is Worth Your Attention

Oriente Antioqueño’s food identity is being actively repositioned as a tourism product. GastroFest is the region’s most prominent annual showcase of that effort — and the scale has grown edition over edition. The 2025 event’s 12,000-visitor figure, if repeated or exceeded in 2026, would make it one of the larger single-weekend food events near Medellín this year.

For context on how this fits the broader regional picture, we covered the Marinilla al Plato 2026 food festival — another Oriente event — just last week, and our July 2026 restaurant news roundup tracks what is happening inside Medellín’s city limits. GastroFest adds a third data point: significant culinary energy is building east of the city, and the Parque del Bienestar site gives it a venue with real infrastructure.

July 18–20. Free entry. Registration required at gastrofestoficial.com.