The Arizona Taco Fest is returning to Salt River Fields October 18 & 19 for its 5th year. This ‘Taco-Topia’ will serve an estimated 100,000 tacos to an expected 25,000 attendees and offers plenty of live entertainment including the Ay Chihuahua! Beauty Pageant and live Lucha Libre Wrestling. The National Taco Association will also be in attendance to judge more than 50 team’s tacos as they compete for the Grand Champion title.
The Arizona Taco Festival pits these participants against each other in a double-blind competition. Tacos are submitted to more than 50 National Taco Association judges sequestered in a closed tent for truly anonymous scoring. Points are awarded and weighed for presentation, taste and texture. Cumulatively, the scores lead to an overall Grand Champion title and $1,000 checks each day.
Outside the judge’s tent, this exciting festival rages on with live Lucha Libre wrestling, a now-legendary Tequila Expo with more than 30 brands participating, and live surf and salsa bands on the main stage. A contest stage also will feature ‘best sombrero’ contests, interactive entertainment and the always popular “Ay Chihuahua! Beauty Pageant.”
The festival humbly began on a dirt lot in the heart of downtown Scottsdale and has since moved to an eight-acre grass field at the Spring Training home of the Arizona Diamondbacks — Salt River Fields at Talking Stick. The Arizona Taco Festival is believed to be the world’s first taco festival, and is estimated to draw more than 30,000 people by 2015.
Tequila Expo Tent, Sat., Oct. 20. The main tent hosts the popular Tequila Expo. Inside, patrons can sample from more than 100 tequilas. A tasting pass is $20 for 10 samples of fine tequila.
Ay Chihuahua! Beauty Pageant, Sun. Oct. 21. Sunday at 2pm, watch more than 15 sassy Chihuahuas strut across the Yelp Contest Stage.
Live Lucha Libre Wrestling. Enjoy live Lucha Libre wrestling all weekend long from comfortable seating around the ring. Also, get a chance to meet the wrestlers themselves during the meet-and-greet.
The Arizona Taco Festival was founded by David Tyda and Rick Phillips of Affordable Food Festivals. They also produce the Arizona Barbecue Festival, Scottsdale Beer Palooza, the most recent Taste Tequila, and run the popular food blog, EATERAZ.com.
Photo credit: penandfork.com.
Anthony Compagnone is a bilingual speech and language therapist by day and has been helping kids and adults with their speech and language needs for over 20 years in New York.
He is also a keen martial artist and has practiced a number of disciplines from kempo to kung fu and everything in between.
Also a champion of his two incredible kids, yoga, hiking and traveling, he contributes to We Blog the World about family travel, hotel and product reviews and of course culture, where his language skills are a huge asset. He speaks 5 languages but is most proficient in English, Spanish and French.
