Food City to Hold 12th Tamale Festival

Arizona’s best tamale-makers will gather to help celebrate the holidays during Food City’s 12th annual Tamale Festival at Cesar Chavez Plaza in downtown Phoenix on Dec. 8 and 9.

The food festival is free and open to the general public. Food City expects thousands of attendees, who will be able to taste and buy a wide selection of homemade tamales, as well as enjoy a variety of booths that will offer jewelry and arts and crafts. The two-day event will also offer live mariachis, ballet folklorico, and other musical entertainment.

According to Food City, many tamale-makers from local faith-based groups prepare their tamales in church commissaries and then sell them at the Festival to raise funds for their organization. Food City also will be selling tamales, menudo, durros, aguas frescas and champurrado (Mexican hot chocolate).

On Sunday at 2:30 p.m., following a tamale taste-testing, a panel of celebrity judges will name the “Best Tamale,” and Food City will award prizes to the winning tamale maker.

Bashas’ operates more than 120 grocery stores under the banners of Food City, AJ’s Fine Foods, Sportsman’s Fine Wines & Spirits, Eddie’s Country Store, and both Bashas’ and Bashas’ Diné markets.