Kona Coffee Cultural Festival

Kona, Hawaii, November 7 to 16, 2008, www.konacoffeefest.com
At this 38-year-old gala, you can, of course, eat and drink every kind of Kona coffee–based recipe. But you can also watch an array of competitions, from bean picking (amateurs welcome) to cupping (a blind tasting of different blends). Tours of some of the more than 600 coffee farms in Kona, a western region of the island of Hawaii, are an integral and fascinating part of the festival. Three dollars will get you into most events.