By Peter Covino

Lifestyles Editor

It is one of the most popular dining events in the world.

Even with hard economic times and an overall higher cost to attend, the 16th Epcot International Food & Wine Festival still means long lines, especially on weekends at the Disney World theme park.

This year’s festival, which runs through Nov. 13, features more than 25 international marketplaces serving up tapas-sized portions paired with beer, wine and/or cocktails.

New this year to the festival are the Hawaii Marketplace, featuring Kahlua pork sliders and tuna poke with seawood salad and lotus root chips. The specialty cocktail is Seven Tiki Mai Tai. Beer choices include the Kona Longboard or Pipeline Beer.

Another new marketplace showcases the Caribbean. Ropa vieja with rice is the specialty here or jerk-spiced chicken with mango salsa. The beverage menu features a frozen Dragon Berry Colada or frozen Rock Coconut Mojito.

This year’s other new marketplace is Portugal. Featured items are a calamari salad with olives and smoked paprika or Linguica sausage with onions, peppers and olives. You can pair your selection with red, white or port wine.

Not new to the festival, but returning after a short hiatus, is The Scandinavia Marketplace.

There is an amazing variety of food, wine and culture at the festival. If you go every year, you probably have old favorites such as Greece (chicken souvlaki), Italy (ravioli di formaggio) or Poland (kielbasa and potato pierogie with caramelized onions). But this is an international festival so be a little daring and try something more exotic like goulash soup from Germany; bunny chow (vegetable curry in a bread loaf) from South Africa or beef rendang (coconut-braised beef) from Singapore.

Of course, the more you eat, the higher the cost for the outing, making it pretty easy to reach the price of dinner at a better restaurant for your Epcot dining experience. Tapas-sized portions, which by definition are small, will cost from $3 to $8 each. Four samples at, say $5 each, will cost $20, and add wine or beer with each tapas, and the bill is already $40. And more than likely, those four tapas, will probably be more like six or seven, if you are spending the whole day at the festival.

Sadly, one of the great joys of the festival in years past, were the free wine seminars and tastings held throughout the day. There are still plenty of wine and beverage seminars held daily, but for the past few years, the cost is not included with admission. Count on spending an additional $11 to $13 per person for each seminar. Similarly, culinary demonstrations and mixology seminars are also held throughout the day, and they too will cost another $11-$13 per person.

Add the eating and drinking and parking to the cost of an Epcot ticket, and the day can easily cost an adult couple $275 or more. Florida residents can take advantage of discount rates ($81.48 for an adult) and you can save considerably more with multi-day tickets or seasonable passes. A little FYI, a Florida resident annual pass is $414.29 for adults. And a seasonal pass, which gets you into all four theme parks at select times of the year, is $286.49.

Other options for those wanting to go to the festival multiple times but don’t want to spend the price for a single price admission every time, include the Epcot after 4 p.m. annual pass for $158.69. For information on Florida admission rates go to http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/florida-resident-tickets-passes.

A day at the Epcot festival is still a full day, even if your budget doesn’t allow too much for food, wine and beer.

Today at the festival (Saturday) for example, includes Eat to the Beat Concert show with Roger Hodgson (formerly of Supertramp). He will appear again Sunday. There are performances three times daily.

Other no additional cost events this weekend include HGTV Seminars (9:30 a.m. and 2 p.m., today). The weekend theme is “Creating a Great Look for Your Holiday or Wine Tasting Party with Monica Pedersen from Designed to Sell; a cheese seminar (with Eric Hedley featuring Italian cheeses); and the Authentic Taste seminar (today and Sunday) with butter, presented by the Irish Dairy Board.

And included events include book signings; the Discovery of Chocolate and Wine School (with Argentina wines).

If you are new to the Epcot festival or even a veteran, it is always a good idea to start at the Festival Welcome Center. The center can give you a heads up on the daily activities and it is also home to a wine bar, the Authentic Taste Seminars and the Authors Without Borders weekend conversations.

Other separate cost events include the 3D Disney’s Dessert Discovery. Held on Friday night only, the 90 minute event at World Showplace Pavilion features desserts and cordial samplings for $55. The night ends with a VIP viewing of the Illuminations night time spectacle. There are also food and wine and food and beer pairings at various Epcot restaurants throughout the festival.

For more information or to make reservations for dining events call 407-WDW-FEST.