12th Annual Chile Festival
With Tucson’s temperatures sizzling, Heirloom Farmers Markets is celebrating the heat with their 12th Annual Chile Festival.
Attracting thousands of visitors, the Chile Festival weekend kicks off at Trail Dust Town on Friday, September 11th, continues at the Oro Valley Farmers Market on Saturday, September 12th, and culminates with the Grande Chile Fiesta at the Rillito Park Farmers Market on Sunday, September 13th. See ‘Markets‘ page for hours and location.
Vendors will be offering delectable chile-themed food, including freshly roasted green chiles, chile spices, zesty tamales and salsas, and an abundance of chile specialties. On Sunday, the weekend crescendos with the Grande Chile Fiesta at the Rillito Park Farmers Market Pavilion featuring live music and a Chef demonstration by Agustin Kitchen’s Ryan Clark using fresh market ingredients.
“The Annual Chile Festival is an event close to our region’s heritage and is a time when the chiles ripen to perfection with the more robust red color,” says Roxanne Garcia, co-director of Heirloom Farmers Markets. “We showcase the abundance of chile varieties and share fun and creative ways to cook with chile and chile products.”
And if all of that is not enough, you can pre-order your fresh roasted Hatch chiles from Kris Young of Red’s Roasters to be picked up at any of the 3 locations. Place your order for 30lb bags by Tuesday, August 1st. Reach Red at www.facebook.com/Reds-Roasters.
The Southwest is known for its quality and diversity of chiles. While New Mexico may be the largest U.S. chile producer, Arizona is vital part of the Chile Belt, growing approximately 6,000 acres of chiles valued at close to $10 million. Heirloom Farmers Markets’ Annual Chile Festival salutes the region’s rich chile heritage while supporting a vibrant spectrum of local food producers and proprietors.
Hosting more than a dozen exciting local food events each year – of which the Annual Chile Festival is but one – Heirloom Farmers Markets is a visionary leader in Tucson’s local food movement. They will also be offering advance ticket sales to their Viva La Local Food Festival which will be held at Rillito Park on Saturday, October 31st for $6.
