Events: Arizona - Phoenix - Scottsdale

There are over 50 Taco Festivals across the world. Where did they all come from? The answer is right here in Arizona. From its humble beginnings in 2010, the Arizona Taco Festival was the first taco festival on Earth and has grown to attract over 35,000 people, devouring their way through over 150,000 tacos every year at this annual celebration of the world’s most adapted and adaptable cuisine. Event organizers award $10,000 cash in various taco-making culinary contests, while an entire 10-acre festival rages on with huge margarita bars, live bands, local businesses, tequila tasting tents, and original programming that includes lucha libre wrestling, a chihuahua beauty pageant, and hilarious eating contests. To experience this event is to experience taco paradise. More than 100 types of tacos are dished out by over 50 restaurants and food trucks, all at $2 each.

This year, creators of the Arizona Taco Festival are producing smaller-scale versions of the Arizona original in seven cities across the US. These events will become part of a national taco competition circuit, leading up to a World Taco Finals (details to be announced).