Apart from your weekly farmers’ market, food communities can be hard to find. This month, a number of first-time festivals aim to bring the Bay Area’s pervasive food theory to life in the form of gatherings that will draw you close not only to delicious, locally made foods, but also to their creators.

SF Chefs.Food.Wine.
The deets: Aug. 6–9, Union Square, S.F., sfchefsfoodwine.com, day passes $150

The wherefore: An ambitious, upscale festival debuts to celebrate the Bay Area’s quality regional ingredients and talented local chefs. Organizers are tenting Union Square for this event (San Francisco is a sponsor), which will raise money for food charities, including Meals on Wheels.

Um, yum: Opening reception with appetizers from Melissa Chou, of Aziza, Justin Simoneaux, of the Moss Room, and Lisa Eyherabide, of Gitane, along with cocktails from bartender Thad Vogler, among many others.

Hear ye: Learn the best way to cook seafood at home with Gourmet magazine’s executive chef, Sara Moulton, and find out what’s next in winemak­ing as Leslie Sbrocco, host of Check, Please! Bay Area, interviews vintner families about generational transitions.

Don’t stop: As if the tasting tent with its dozens of chefs weren’t enough, you can sign up for special meals, including the Out in the Fog dinner at Orson, hosted by LGBT chefs to benefit Project Open Hand.

San Francisco Street Food Festival
The deets: Aug. 22, Folsom St. bet. 25th and 26th Sts., S.F., sfstreetfoodfest.com, $3 tastes

The wherefore: La Cocina, a nonprofit that helps low-income and immigrant women create successful food businesses, is hosting this festival as a fundraiser. La Cocina aims to legitimize our city’s best informal eats and make it easier for their purveyors to safely—and legally—do what they do best.

Um, yum: Featherlight, dulce de leche–filled alfajores from Sabores del Sur, and onigilly, Japanese rice balls stuffed with fillings such as teriyaki chicken, from Onigilly Foods.

Hear ye: Roving street musicians and the cries of the La Cocina candy stripers.

Don’t stop: Check out the festival’s silent online auction.

Natural Wine Week
The deets: Aug. 24–30, at seven San Francisco wine shops and restaurants, arlequinwinemerchant.com, pay per event, tastings from $15

The wherefore: Wine retailers and sommeliers at shops and restaurants across the city, including Arlequin, Nopa, Uva Enoteca, and the Jug Shop, noticed that they were struggling to articulate the concept of natural wine to their customers. Here’s an opportunity to learn what the term means via tastings and special wine offerings.

Um, yum: Unfiltered, lovingly made syrah and grenache from Berkeley’s Broc Cellars, and the best natural French wines at Terroir, in SoMa.

Hear ye: An in-depth symposium on Sunday afternoon at Chez Spencer will explore the definition of natural wine. Both skeptics and proponents will be on hand.

Don’t stop: Take home some natural wines at a good price—several shops will offer special deals for the week.

The Eat Real Festival
The deets: Aug. 28–30, Jack London Square, Oakland, eatrealfest.com, Beer Shed tickets $20 for five tastings ($25 day of), food tickets $1–5

The wherefore: Who says organic always has to mean elite and expensive? Fresh, local street food is the focus of the East Bay counterpart to the San Francisco Street Food Festival. The event features local farmers, chefs, and artisans, including the Beer Shed, which serves handcrafted brews. Nearly half the proceeds go to organizations promoting healthy food access for all.

Um, yum: Fifteen food trucks and muchos tacos, filled with everything from carnitas and pork al pastor to nopales and even kimchee.

Hear ye: Watch a food-themed movie in the open air at the curbside cinema, listen to poetry and speakers proselytizing from the political soapbox, and learn how to make your own tortillas at the From Scratch Kitchen.

Don’t stop: Before the festival starts, attend a Keeping It Real dinner, or sign up for the event’s Twitter feed to be alerted to guerrilla street-food events throughout August.