Love tequila and eating tacos?
Santa Cruz joins Oxnard as the latest city to hold the Tequila and Taco Music Festival, a one-day event where Tequila-lovers can try a variety of their favorite tipple while soaking it all up with a wide selection of inspired taco creations.
It all happens on Saturday, August 23 at San Lorenzo Park in Santa Cruz.
Produced by the people behind the California Beer Festival, the inaugural event will feature a selection of tequilas and mezcals, including Mezcal Vago, Ocho Cientos, Cielo Rojo Bacanora, and Tequila Alquimia.
Tequila sampling is from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. only. All other alcohol will be served until 5 p.m.
As anyone can tell you, the perfect accompaniment to a shot of tequila (besides the lemon slice) is a rich, succulent taco. Street carts selling the portable fare are parked right outside the nightclubs in Mexico, just waiting for hungry, sauced patrons to emerge – they know what it is all about.
At the Festival, you can feast on appetizing tacos from the Taco Factory and local caterer, Conscious Creations who use all organic, regionally grown ingredients. All of their meat is free range and organically fed while their seafood is sustainably sourced from the Monterey Bay. Try their Panko Tofu Rice Balls, Smoked Turkey Lavash Wraps, and Mediterranean Meatballs.
Live entertainment will be provided by the afro-funk outfit, SambaDa, who recently played the Santa Cruz Mountain Sol Music Festival and will be at the Monterey Jazz Festival next month. Extra Large will play a fun and irresistible blend of reggae, hip-hop, rock, funk, and rap. And taking you back to the basics is Candelaria, the creators of a new genre: cumbia-dub. Traditional cumbia and other Colombian rhythms are amped up with reggae bass lines and computer beats – and all one hundred percent live!
Admission is $10 and the Saturday Tequila Experience is $30. WANT TO GO? Enter our Tequila and Taco Festival Giveaway by Wednesday, August 20 for a chance to win a pair of tickets.
Visit Tequila and Taco Festival for more information. Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.
