There are many things you can do with collard greens – chop ‘em, boil ‘em, braise ‘em, use ‘em in a quiche or a casserole. Rich in nutrients, tasty collards make any meal a little healthier.
St. Petersburg actually devotes one day a year to collard greens. There’s so much more to the Tampa Bay Collard Green Festival – the 2026 edition takes place this Saturday – but at the center of it all is the leafy vegetable from the Latin family Brassica oleracea.
The food-centric festival takes place Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 2240 9th Avenue S., in the Deuces area.
“It could be any food, really, but especially in the African American community it conjures up moments in time, moments in family history …” pointed out Boyzell Hosey, who co-founded the nonprofit in 2017. “It just brings joy to people. And anyone, not just the African American community.”
Hosey, who spent 23 years in the photography and visual department of the Tampa Bay Times, believes that talking about collards tends to bring out the best in people. “For me, as a photojournalist, I’m a storyteller at heart,” he explained. “So it’s the storytelling that always attracted me. So when we called it the Collard Green Festival, immediately people started sharing stories: ‘I remember when we used to make collard greens around the holidays,’ or ‘I remember picking collard greens in my parents’ garden.’
“So it’s just a symbol that can rally folks around a common cause – to live healthier through the foods that we love to grow and eat.”
Along with a collard greens cook-off, there will be food vendors, arts vendors, community service info, STEM exhibits, live music and even a petting zoo.
Also at the festival: Talks on gardening, agricultural science, fitness, nutrition and more. “It really is a shared event. We’ve gotten a lot of ideas from the community. If it represents what we consider ‘uplifting the community,’ if it’s something that will help people live their lives better, that’s what we want to do.”
Last year’s festival drew an estimate 18,000. Admission, as always, is free.
“We didn’t get into this to make any money,” Hosey pointed out. “I love just connecting community. That was the thing for me as a photojournalist. That was the thing I loved most when I was a photographer on the street – being able to just get into the community, talk to people and share great stories.”
Each year, he said, the collards available at the festival get tastier, even as they discover ways to make them more healthy. “So we really wanted to get that message out that you know what, you could actually do this at a fraction of the time, and do it in a healthier way.”
Find all information at the Tampa Bay Collard Green Festival website, at this link. Learn more about the nonprofit’s other activities there, too.
