If you’re arriving in Prague in October and wish to taste some Prague food with Prague locals, you’re in luck. Yup, food events are just THE thing in Prague right now, and if you thought you’d go on a diet after a busy street food summer, Prague’s answer is a resounding NO.
This is a small recap of the most interesting events coming to Prague in October. There’s food, coffee, and we’ve added two events that are not related to food but can build and appetite. And that’s good enough for us. The variety is great: healthy apples, healthy coffee (ahem), some Vietnamese flavors and a "hip hop chip shop" at a sneaker festival, so there’s absolutely no excuse for you not attending. This is where you go.
Slavnosti jablek - October 9 and 10
Hooray for apples! If you like them apples, and all the products that come from them, make sure you visit the Jirak farmers’ market this Friday and Saturday. Fifteen apple producers, the best Czech ciders (incl. our favorite Cidrerie), and all the strudels you can handle (including a raw and vegan version if that’s what you crave after your CrossFit session) - what else do you want? After you’ve had your apple fix, make sure you venture into the Zizkov district nearby. It’s fun.
Ochutnej Vietnam - October 10
There are two reasons why you should visit this year's edition of the "Taste Vietnam” event. First, it gives you a sneak peek into the life and the food of the sizable Vietnamese community in Prague if you don’t want to venture out of the centre to see the Vietnamese Sapa market, and it is also a great way to see the Holesovice market, one of the oddest and quirkiest places in Prague. And if you're feeling a bit under the weather in the coming autumn as we do, a bowl of Pho will come in handy. If extra chillies in your soup will not clear your sinuses, we don’t know what will. Some usual suspects will serve food, incl. our favorite Gao Den, or Madame Lin.
Prague Coffee Festival - October 10 and 11
Prague Coffee Festival has been getting better and better from its very first edition just a few years ago. The organizers hit one out of the park with the venue for this year’s festival: the National Agricultural Museum is fun and fascinating, and a venue many locals have been avoiding for a long time. This is a place to get caffeinated: four brew bars and three espresso bars (plus a soy milk bar) will make sure you will not sleep for days. But it is also a great chance to get a quick overview of Prague’s booming coffee scene. A must if you’re here over the weekend and like coffee.
Signal festival - October 15 through 18
Signal Festival, the “most attended cultural event" in the Czech Republic will celebrate only its third edition this year from October 15 through 18. The Prague Light Festival takes you through the streets and wows the attendants, and goes-by, with some light installations and video mapping performances. These things are what memories are made of, and make for great YouTube videos. Just sayin’. No food will be served, but we wrote about our favorite places to eat last year.
SFF at the Life Sciences Film Festival - October 17 and 18
Want to taste the best of Street Food Festival, one of our favorite food events in Prague? Make sure you visit the Life Sciences Film Festival (that takes place on October 12 through 18), namely the Dejvice campus of the Agricultural University. This particular itineration will show the best of the Street Food Festival, will all the domestic and foreign street foods usually served. And with the Street Food Jam events gone, this is your best chance to get your hands on some nice street food here in Prague from some of the local favorite stalls. The festival is open from 11am to 7pm over the weekend.
Designblok - October 22 through 27
The time has come. Another edition of the Designblok, the design event of the year, is coming to Prague on October 22 through 27. The event has come a long way since its humble beginnings and now really is the event to look for in the event calendar if you like modern design. What makes Designblok stand out is their selection of venues for the main exhibition: always something interesting and behind closed doors. This year is no different: the Industrial Palace in the Trade Fair Grounds, a complex straight from Banksy’s Dismaland, is a fascinating building that is testament to Prague’s inability to take proper care of some of its best assets. Beautiful and run down at the same time, and you can walk through the Letna district to get there. Food? Just like in the past few years, the Ambiente group will take care of it. And, sadly, Heineken will be served.
Teniskology - October 24
Okay. If there is a thing more important than sneakers, we don’t know what that is. The Teniskology festival will be held on 24 October in the Vinohradsky pavilion building in the heart of the Vinohrady district, a place worth going to by itself. Major brands will showcase their freshest creations while hip hop DJs will spin some records. Not cool enough? Okay, here you go: we met Paul Day of Sansho and Maso a kobliha yesterday on their way to Pavilon. They will prepare food at the festival in their “Hip-Hop Chip Shop”. Mind blown.
