The King Arthur Baking Company will present the New York BagelFest at Citi Field on Sunday, November 15, 2026. The food event features two scheduled tasting sessions where attendees can sample items from more than 25 participating bagel bakeries.
Selection for this year’s festival involved an application process where organizers accepted under 9% of total applicants. Participating shops represent 10 U.S. states and five countries, with international bakeries traveling from Spain, Canada, Ireland, and India to participate alongside local New York establishments.
Judges and attendees will cast votes across several competition categories, including Best Bagel, Schmear of the Year, Most Creative, Best Showmanship, and Best Bialy. Additional award categories include People’s Choice, Best of the Boroughs, Best Beyond the Boroughs, Best International, and Rising Star, alongside the World Bagel Rolling Championship.
Returning competitors include Dallas-based Starship Bagel, Hey Bagel from Seattle, and Rise Bagels from Irvine, California. International vendor SiSi Bagels of Madrid, Spain, and regional vendor Pete’s Bagels from Tampa Bay are also slated to participate in the festival.
Event programming includes live baking demonstrations, educational panels, vendor stalls, interactive exhibits, and a dedicated activities area for children. Sponsors for the 2026 event include King Arthur Baking Company as presenting sponsor and flour partner, All Bake Technologies, Manischewitz, and Philadelphia Cream Cheese.
Early bird ticket sales begin September 8, 2026, starting at $49 on the official event website, with standard ticket prices beginning at $69.
The 2026 BagelFest Lineup
- Starship Bagel — Dallas, TX. BagelFest’s most decorated competitor, Best Bagel Champions ’23 & ’25 (runner-up ’24); Schmear Of The Year ’24, runner-up ’25; Rising Star ’23; Most Creative runner-up ’25; Best Beyond the Boroughs podium ’23, ’24
- Olmo — New Haven, CT. People’s Choice Champ ’23 and runner-up ’22, ’24. Schmear of the Year ’23. Returning to the competition after a one-year hiatus, with seven total podium finishes across the previous three years.
- Utopia Bagels — New York, NY. 2024 Best Bagel champion, with Best of the Borough podium finishes in ’23 and ’25. Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, 2026
- Ess-a-Bagel — New York, NY. Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, 2024. Best of The Boroughs champion, 2025.
- Fantzye — Kingston, NY. Best Bagel runner-up ’25, Schmear Of The Year ’25, Best Beyond The Boroughs ’24 & podium finisher ’25
- Hey Bagel — Seattle, WA. Double champion at BagelFest West 2025, sweeping both Best Bagel and Best Bagel – Sourdough.
- Rise Bagels — Irvine, CA. Double champion at BagelFest West 2025, taking home both Best of the West and Most Creative.
- Bagel Market — New York, NY. Podium in Best Bagel ’23 & ’24, Schmear of the Year runner-up ’23
- St-Viateur Bagel — Montreal, Canada. Best International champion in ’23 and ’25 and runner-up ’24, the category’s most consistent competitor.
- Curley’s Bagels — Sunnyside, NY. People’s Choice runner-up ’25.
- Bagizza — New York, NY. 2025 runner-up Rising Star, Best of The Boroughs podium finisher
- Bagel Joint — Brooklyn, NY. 2024 podium finishes in Best of The Boroughs and Best Bialy.
- Emerald City Bagels — Atlanta, GA. Best Showmanship runner-up, ’25.
- Inglorious Bagels — Carlsbad, CA. Best Bagel – Yeasted runner-up at BagelFest West ’25.
- Si Si Bagels — Madrid, Spain. Best International podium finisher ’25.
- Dutchman’s — Brunswick, ME. Returning competitor.
- Bagel Uprising — Alexandria, VA. New competitor.
- Bagel Boss of Roslyn — Roslyn Heights, NY. New competitor.
- Bagel Brigade — India & Texas. New competitor.
- Bev’s Bagels — Detroit, MI. New competitor.
- Black Seed Bagels — New York, NY. New competitor.
- Bodega Bagels — Belfast, Ireland. New competitor.
- Pete’s Bagels — St. Petersburg, FL. New competitor.
- Pigeon Bagels — Pittsburgh, PA. New competitor.
- Schmear Bagel Parlor — Philadelphia, PA. New competitor.
- Original Sunshine — gluten-free bagels
- Queen Street Bakery — gluten-free bagels
Bagel-Adjacent Exhibitors
- Variety Coffee — Brooklyn, NY. A Brooklyn-born coffee roaster that’s grown from a single Williamsburg café in 2008 into nine NYC locations plus its own roastery.
- Parlor Coffee — Brooklyn, NY. A Brooklyn roastery that got its start in the back of a Williamsburg barbershop in 2012 and now supplies cafés and home brewers from its Navy Yard headquarters.
- Acme Smoked Fish — Brooklyn, NY. A fourth-generation, family-owned Greenpoint institution and the largest smoked salmon producer in North America since 1906.
- Blue Circle Foods — Washington, D.C. An employee-owned seafood company known for sustainably sourced, beechwood-smoked salmon free of antibiotics, added hormones, and synthetic dyes.
- Peter Pan Donuts — Brooklyn, NY. A longtime Greenpoint donut shop and neighborhood fixture beloved for its classic, no-frills counter-service donuts.
- Gracie Baked — Brooklyn, NY. A Brooklyn bakery known for its layer cakes, cookies, and other made-from-scratch treats.
- Mike‘s Hot Honey — Brooklyn, NY. The Brooklyn-founded hot honey brand credited with popularizing the sweet-and-spicy condiment on menus nationwide.
- Monty’s Plant-Based — Los Angeles, CA. An L.A. business making dairy-free cream cheese and other plant-based spreads.
- The Matzo Project — Brooklyn, NY. A Brooklyn company putting a modern spin on matzo with flavors like everything and chocolate.
- Joe Tea — Philadelphia, PA. A Philadelphia-based iced tea brand known for its brewed, not-too-sweet flavors sold in glass bottles.
- Tizz — Brooklyn, NY. A Brooklyn beverage brand making tangerine soda.
- Brooklyn Seltzer Boys — Brooklyn, NY. The successors to Gomberg Seltzer Works, delivering old-school seltzer in glass siphon bottles across NYC.
- Allyson Fisher, Author, Bagel Finds His Center — A pediatric nutritionist turned children’s book author, whose picture book follows a nervous bagel finding his place at the Corner Cafe.
- Da Shayna Punims — Chicago, IL. A Chicago-based Judaica and gift shop selling playful “Jewish swag” and holiday decor.
- Bageled NYC — Brooklyn, NY. A Brooklyn brand that puts a bagel-shop spin on tennis apparel and gear, from cream cheese-themed grips to lox-print accessories.
- Rainbow Unicorn Birthday Surprise — Brooklyn, NY. A Brooklyn accessories brand selling playful hair clips, socks, and keychains, including NYC-themed designs.
- KatieB Cartoons — Brooklyn, NY. The pun-driven single-panel cartoons of illustrator Katie Brookoff, including a long-running bagel series, sold as prints and cards.
- BonBagel — a revolutionary new bagel slicer
- Hot Bread Kitchen — New York, NY. Hot Bread Kitchen uses the power of food to create economic opportunity, equipping New Yorkers facing barriers to employment with the skills, support, and pathways to build sustainable careers and businesses in the food industry.
- Philadelphia Cream Cheese – A quintessential bagel companion and iconic American cream cheese brand known for its signature rich, creamy spread.
- All Bake Technologies – Neptune, NJ. All Bake Technologies provides professional bakers with a one-stop solution for their bakery equipment needs – equipment, parts, technical support, and service – all in one place.
- Manischewitz – Bayonne, NJ. From inventing machine-made matzo in 1888 to crafting the world’s most delicious matzo ball soup, The Manischewitz Co. have been serving up traditional Jewish foods since 1888.
- Malt Products – Saddle Brook, NJ. Longtime producer of malted ingredients and natural sweeteners used by commercial bakeries and food manufacturers, including the malt that helps give classic bagels their distinctive flavor, color, and crust.
- Bettani Farms – Berkeley, CA. Bettani Farms has developed a transformative protein-rich, dairy-free portfolio of products. Its next-generation cream cheese and goat cheese, both launching in late 2026, leverage Caseed, Bettani’s proprietary protein ingredient.
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