After 2-year pause, Agave Fest returns to Tucson

Gotta love a festival centered around one of the region’s most famous and beloved spirits, tequila.

Specifically, the four-day 2022 Agave Heritage Festival — Thursday, April 28, through Sunday, May 1 — which is all about the plant at the root of tequila.

After a two-year hiatus courtesy the COVID-19 pandemic, the annual event returns as a four-day celebration of the plant that produces a spirit culturally connected to Tucson and our Mexican neighbors.

“There is no other festival in the U.S. that comes close to the richness and depth that has been our calling card to aficionados from all over the region and south of the border,” Todd Hanely, the festival’s founder and Hotel Congress CEO, said in a written release. “This festival brings together over 40 presenters, in over 20 events taking place over four days that celebrate every aspect of the agave plant in our region.”

The festival features more than 20 distinctive events, from conversations with producers to showcasing the women behind mezcal and a concert with Lila Downs.

This festival comes 14 years after the inaugural Agave Fest in 2008 that launched it all. Since that single-day event at Hotel Congress, the agave plant has gained worldwide fascination and tequila has exploded.

So has the festival.

That one-day inaugural event that featured a number of artisanal and ancestral agave spirits has nearly tripled today, and has grown into a multiday festival that looks beyond what’s poured in your margarita to the sustainability and historical, cultural and economic significance of the agave plant across borders.

“Over the years, the Agave Heritage Festival has been refining the art of throwing a festival that both celebrates agave spirits in themselves and educates the public on the history, culture and ecology of the human-agave relationship, including spirits production,” said longtime participant Doug Smith, who owns Exo Roasters and its sister El Crisol mezcal tasting bar. “There is no other festival in the U.S. that approaches the depth and breadth of this one, no other that appeals as strongly to enthusiasts on both sides of the border or draws more important figures in Mexico, from scholars to conservationists to actors in the spirits industry. We bring together more than 40 presenters addressing nearly every aspect of the agave plant.”

The festival includes several free events. Ticketed events can be purchased at agaveheritagefestival.com.

The festival kicks off at 2:30 p.m. Thursday with a lecture and workshop on Mexican fermented beverages. Participants can sample some of those beverages: tepache, tesgüino, roasted agave and colonche made with prickly pear fruit. It’s being held at Crisol, the tequila bar at Exo Coffee Roasters, 196 W. Simpson St. The cost is $25.

Obviously since the festival is all about alcohol, no one under 21 will be admitted to most of the events.

Here are some highlights from the schedule:

Thursday: In addition to the workshop, Lila Downs is in concert at 8 p.m. at Centennial Hall, 1020 E. University Blvd., on the University of Arizona campus. The concert is presented by Arizona Arts Live; $30 through ticketmaster.com.

At 10 p.m., Salvador Duran headlines the Lila Downs after party at The Century Room at Hotel Congress, 311 E. Congress St.; $10 through hotelcongress.com

Friday: “Ignite Agave: Women of Mezcal,” 6 p.m. at Leo Rich Theater, 260 S. Church Ave., explores women’s role in mezcal, from the craft distillers to those who are reshaping the industry. Panelists include Diana Pinzón (Mezcal Zinacantan), Kristen Lear (Bat Conservation Intl), Francesca Claverie (Borderlands Restoration Network), Yuan Ji (Erstwhile Mezcal), Lorena Carreño (Mezcal Carreño), Lauren Espinoza and Adriana Torres de la Huerta (Las Mujeres de Bacanora/Maguey Mexico) and Julie Figueras (Banhez Mezcal).

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At 7 p.m., the Larry Redhouse Trio performs at the Century Room ($15-$20) and there’s a Bacanora tasting and talk at Crisol.

At 8 p.m., 15 downtown restaurants and bars are participating in MezCrawl. For a list, visit agaveheritagefestival.com.

After the crawl, head over to the Hotel Congress Plaza at 9:30 p.m. Friday for the El Tambó Fest dance party without borders; $15.

Saturday: Get up early and trek Tumamoc Hill for an agave walking tour that starts at 9 a.m. Archaeologists Suzy and Paul Fish and additional guest speakers will conduct a walking tour of the Hohokam agave fields on the western slopes of Tumamoc Hil, 1675 W. Anklam Road; $30.

At noon, The Screening Room, 127 E. Congress St., is hosting a free screening of “The Agave: Spirit of a Nation.” Mezcal Vago’s Francisco Terrazas will participate in a Q&A following the film; free.

The Agave Fiesta VIP Borderlands Jazz Concert with Amilcar Guevara Latin Jazz All Stars begins at 6 p.m. at the The Century Room; $40 which includes an agave-inspired cocktail or neat mezcal pour.

The Agave Fiesta showcase event is at 7 p.m. on the Hotel Congress Plaza, highlighting more than 50 artisanal and ancestral mezcals and tequilas and entertainment from Frontera Bugalú (El Paso) and DJ Butta Fly. There’s also the highly anticipated agave cocktail showdown; $50.

Tucson Latin classical guitarist Ismael Barajas closes the evening with a late-night gig at the Century Room beginning at 9 p.m.; $5 at the door.

Sunday: At noon, The Loft Cinema, 3233 E. Speedway, hosts the free screening of “Sons of Mezcal.” Filmmaker Stephan L. Werk follows four families as they pass onto the next generation their traditions of making mezcal. RSVP through eventbrite.com.

Also at noon, Tipsy Picassos is hosting “Painting in the Desert” at Hotel McCoy, 720 W. Silverlake Road; $25.

Explore and taste mezcal’s kindred spirit, sotol, at 5 p.m. at Crisol; $35.

Gather ‘round the fire pit at Mission Garden, 946 W. Mission Lane, for the Agave Expo and roasting pit. This is where you get to taste what organizers describe as “the smokey sweet caramelized penca and biguata (roasted agave leaves and heart).” Your price of admission ($75) gets you an assortment of La Luna mezcal spirits and cocktails paired with local food prepared by Exo Roast.

At 6 p.m., the Agave Heritage Dinner gets underway at Maynards, 400 N. Toole Ave. — a five-course mezcal-inspired feast prepared by Tucson’s Iron Chef Brian Smith of Maynards and James Beard Award nominee Aaron DeFeo of Little Rituals in Phoenix — he formerly worked for Casino del Sol. The pair will present a menu featuring regional and heritage ingredients; $167 (includes tax & gratuity).

The festival wrap-up party with Hiram Perez and Zona Libre Latin jazz band kicks off at 9 p.m. at The Century Room; $10 at the door.