For the last 14 years, the Tucson Agave Heritage Festival has put education at the forefront of this conversation and will continue to lead for years to come because education is key to the future of agave spirits. Keep up the amazing work!
Schedule:
8-10am - AGAVE PLANTING AT MISSION GARDEN
Help plant agave at Mission Garden! Learn more about this food’s ancient methods and future possibilities. Come plant agave in our Tomorrow’s Garden, in the style of traditional Hohokam-era agave plantings on nearby Tumamoc Hill. These agave will feed bat pollinators in the garden, then might just be roasted in our pit at a future festival. At the end of the planting, Archaeologist Allen Denoyer will demonstrate the use of a replica agave knife, used for cutting leaves off agaves in preparation for roasting.
Admission: Free
2-4pm - FERMENTED BEVERAGES WORKSHOP
A perennial favorite of festival attendees, the Mexican Fermented Beverage Workshop is a delicious and informative exploration of an often overlooked part of the gastronomic patrimony of Mexico. Exploring fermentations allows us to consider connections between people and place in fresh ways. The “unseen” contributors to ecosystems, in this case microbes like yeast and bacteria, form a fundamental part of foodscapes and diets. An accompanying political and economic dimension of the people-plant-microbe nexus concerns the defense of land and natural patrimony.
Ticket: $40
5-11pm - MEZCRAWL
Agave rules the night with cocktails, mezcal and culinary delights! Kick off the night with a traditional mezcal toast at the Playground Bar & Lounge and then stroll to any of the over 12 participating Downtown Tucson restaurant and bar locations. Ticket includes veladora (traditional mezcal sipping glass), lanyard, mezcal toast with Mezcal, light bites & mezcal cocktail samples at all 10 locations.
Ticket: $65
5:30-8pm - SEIS HERITAGE DINNER
Guests will be dining on regional Mexican cuisine from a multi-course menu served with curated agave spirits and cocktail pairings from a featured mezcal producer.
Ticket: $130
6-9pm - AGAVE CULTURESCAPES & FESTIVAL OPENING RECEPTION
Join Southern Arizona and the University of Arizona Community in celebrating the culture, history, and heritage of the noble agave plant as we dance, sip, talk, laugh, and engage for a night of celebration. The reception includes a presentation by Dr. Luis Coronado of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, performances by Som do Sial as well as the chance to meet many of the agave industry's best and most influential.
Admission: Free
8:30-10pm - NATALIA TOLEDO POETRY READING RECEPTION
Please join Bar Crisol as they host the closing reception for the University of Arizona Hannelore Quander-Rattee Works-in-Translation Reading featuring Natalia Toledo. Our friends from NETA and Ixcateco agave spirits will be on hand pouring a special menu of some of the incredible spirits from Oaxaca in celebration of Natalia’s reading. Produced in the Logoche and Nochixtlan areas of Oaxaca, each one of these wonderful brands is some of the premiere examples of mezcal from their respective regions. Guests who show a physical copy of the Poetry Center calendar get their first mezcal or flight for half-off.
21+ Only
Date: April 18-21, 2024
