Six cities in the Tohoku region will jointly stage food fairs in four U.S. cities in October, featuring local foods and products from a region hard hit by a massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011, one of the city offices said Tuesday.

The event, named "Rising Tohoku Food Fair," will be held for eight days from Oct. 16-19 and Oct. 23-26 at Mitsuwa Marketplace stores in two cities in California, and in New Jersey and Illinois.

Cold beef noodles, apple juice and other local specialties from Aomori, Morioka, Sendai, Akita, Yamagata and Fukushima will be demonstrated and sold, the Sendai municipal office said.

The region's local festivals will also be showcased.

The six city offices aim to hold such joint events overseas once a year to expand sales networks for their local products, given sluggish sales at home, it said.