Tucson, AZ - The 16th Edition of the Agave Heritage Festival perfectly balances the culture, community and conservation of our borderlands region while also offering world-class parties, music, tastings,poetry readings, and innovative dinners.   With Afar magazine rating the festival as one of the "10 Best Places to Visit in April" and Conde Nast Traveler recognizing Tucson in their 2024 list of “The Best Places to Go in North America and the Caribbean", there is still time to book the 4 day/4- night immersive festival experience featuring 50+ events ranging from free to well worth it!

 

2024 AGAVE HERITAGE FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS

 

Mission Garden offers a weekend Immersion centered around an authentic agave roasting pit, a fermentation class with world-renowned Cesar Ojeda Linnare and Danny Childs, panel discussions around the future of agave as an agricultural crop in the southwest, and exploration tours of the ethnobotanical garden and farm. Other events at Mission Garden include a Fermented Beverage Class, a Hualapai Agave Pit Opening/Presentation, and dozens of local vendors/merchants showcasing the many uses of agave.

 

Guided Tastings throughout the four-day event are conducted by world-class mezcalerias, and master distillers while featuring interactive photo exhibits, chocolate pairings, and a painting class.

 

Local, regional, and heritage-focused dinners with guest chefs, master distillers, and a sunset tequila toast while raising money for great conservation causes in Southern Arizona such as Borderlands Restoration Network, La Tierra De Jaguar, Sky Island Alliance, and CENKO. Explore Cascahuin Tequila, Tequila Ocho, Mezcal Vago, and Mezcal Union within the four dinners throughout the weekend! Assistance at the Heritage Dinner events will be provided by CCAP culinary students.

 

And the festival would not be the most impactful festival in the west without a full line up of education, conservation, and culture from the world’s best and brightest! For complete details and to purchase tickets for all events listed below visit https://www.agaveheritagefestival.com/all-events .

 

 

FESTIVAL MUSIC

 

Includes exceptional international talent in the Century Room at Hotel Congress and performances by special guests Flor De Toloache and the Brazilian Som do Sisal Agave Orchestra will kick off the weekend.

 

Thursday 4/18

7pm–10pm: AHF MezCrawl with Naim Amor & The Cocktail Hours

10pm-1am: AHF Industry Party with Salvador Duran

 

Friday 4/19

7pm – 10pm: Som do Sisal and Grammy Award Winning Flor De Toloacye

7pm & 9pm: AHF presents Larry Redhouse Band 

 

Saturday 4/20

10:30pm: Agave Fiesta Afterparty with Mambo Cat Trio

 

Sunday 4/21

7pm-10pm: Festival Wrap Part with Zona Libre 

 

WEEKEND EVENT SCHEDULE

 

Thursday, April 18

 

9-10am - Agave Planting at Mission Garden

 

2-4pm – Fermented Beverages Workshop at Mission Garden

 

3pm – Zincantan Tasting at Reilly Craft Pizza Rooftop

 

4-5:30pm – G4 Tequila Guided Tasting at Sidecar

 

5pm – MezCrawl at 12 Downtown Restaurant/Bars

 

5:30PM – Heritage Dinner at Seis Kitchen (additional seats just added)

 

6pm – Agave Culturescapes & Festival Opening Reception

 

8:30 - 10pm – Natalia Toledo Poetry Reception at Crisol Bar

  

FRIDAY, APRIL 19

 

10am - 1pm – Raices: A Morning of Connections and Conversations at Tooley’s Cafe

 

2:00pm - 3:30pm –Mezcal Vago Interactive Tasting and Photo Exhibit at Penca Restaurante

 

4- 5:30pm – Hualapai Tribe Agave Use in AZ: Food, Fiber and Vessel at Maynards Kitchen

 

4:30pm - 5:30pm – Cata con Mujer Agave at Tooley’s Café

 

5- 7pm – Jalisco Tasting with Suro Imports at Batch

 

6- 8pm – Las Almas Rotas Texas Honky Tonk Takes over the Monsoon Room

 

6-9:30pm – Heritage Dinner with special guests Dr Mae Hey and Don Guerra at Maynards Kitchen

 

7-10pm – Festival Kickoff with Flor de Toloache and Brazilian Som do Sisal Agave Orchestra at Hotel Congress Plaza

 

7-11pm – Guardianes del Espiritu Film Screening and Origen Raiz tasting at the Proper Shops

 

9-11pm – Copenhagen, Denmark Barking Dog Bar takes over the Touch Luck Club at Reilly Craft Pizza

 

SATURDAY, APRIL 20

 

8am -12pm – Agave Roast & Learn at Mission Garden

 

9am - 4pm – Agave, Arte y Alebrijes Festival at Tohono Chul Park

 

11am-12pm – Sip and Paint with Montaraz Bacanora at Tooley’s Cafe

 

11am -12pm – What’s Going on in Jalisco? At the Drawing Room at Maynards Kitchen

 

12 –1pm and 2-3pm – Rezpiral Tasting with Berta Vasquez at Westbound

 

12:30 – 1:30pm – Media in Agave at the Drawing Room at Maynards Kitchen

 

1:15 - 1:45pm – The Amazing Agave Lecture at Saguaro National Park West

 

2-3pm – Preserving Tradition: A Proposal for Geographical Indications in Oaxaca at the Drawing Room at Maynards Kitchen

 

2-3:30pm – Spirits of Northern Mexico Tasting & Lecture at Crisol Bar

 

3:30-4:30pm – Collaborative Conservation Initiatives: The Only Way Forward at the Drawing Room at Maynards Kitchen

 

3:30-5pm – Franke Honors College Agave Knowledge Exchange at AC Marriott Hotel

 

7-10pm – Agave Fiesta Grand Tasting at Hotel Congress

 

8-11pm – Bar Clavel from Baltimore Takes of BarBata

 

9-11pm – Guadalajara, Jalisco Bars Pare de Sufrir and De la O take over Owls Club

 

SUNDAY, APRIL 21

 

10am - 2pm – Introduction to Mezcal Course at the AC Marriott Hotel

 

11am - 3pm – Spirit of Sonora Community Fiesta at midtown farm Flowers & Bullets

 

5-9pm – Howard Scott Gentry Lifetime Achievement Award & Gala Dinner at the JW Starr Pass Marriott featuring Tequila Ocho and Mezcal Vodka

 

6-9:30pm –Cascahuin Heritage Dinner with Master Distiller Salvador Rosales Trejo at the Coronet

 

6-7:30pm – Sotol Tasting & Lecture at Crisol Bar

 

8-9pm – Maestros del Mezcal Blind Tasting at Crisol Bar

 

About the Agave Heritage Festival

The Agave: In the seventeenth century, Francisco Ximénez described its centrality. “Of no other plant,” he wrote in his Historia Natural of 1615, “is there such abundance in New Spain. If people would learn to live in moderation and balance, as is reasonable, this plant would be sufficient to supply all human needs”.

The mission of the Agave Heritage Festival, now in its 16th year, is to create an opportunity to all who are interested in continuing to explore and celebrate the cultural, sustainable, and commercial significance of the agave across borders. Founded in 2008, the Tucson based Agave Heritage Foundation has grown to include the ever-expanding exploration and uses of the Agave plant in its many forms. The festival has since become a city-wide destination event that spotlights the southwest region through the lens of the agave plant. The Agave Heritage Festival celebrates the unique importance and sustainability of the agave plant and borderlands culture with seminars, tasting events and world-class culinary events. For the complete schedule of events and to purchase tickets, visit agaveheritagefestival.com. @agaveheritagefestival #agaveheritagefestival.

 

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