Transforming Rural Foodscapes Through Festivalization: A Conceptual Model

Abstract

This article conceptualizes the transformative potential of food festivals for rural foodscapes. The study elaborates on the ideas behind the term “festivalization.” It seeks to understand the potential impacts of festivals on the spatial surroundings rather than the opposite, which is most frequently seen in the research on rural food festivals. Festivalization describes a process where transformative forces that trickle into the rural foodscape can be seen as continuance and incentives for change. The article introduces the following paradigmatic lenses through which festivalization and rural transformation can be observed: (1) resource redefinition, (2) upstream mobilizing, (3) spatial interlinking, (4) insubordinative activism, (5) reciprocal mediatizing, (6) redistributive commodification, (7) disruptive incorporatizing, and (8) persistent emotionalizing. When activated, the rural foodscape becomes a site for integrative identity, where festivals have transformative power. Examples from the academic literature and practice sources illustrate the points. The article outlines implications for both further studies and rural policy-making.