Let Them Eat ... Everything!
By Naomi Serviss

Got salsa? Or solar-cooked pizza? How about enough sun-ripened maize in rainbow hues?

When it comes to showing off the bounty of Arizona’s wildly diverse culinary offerings, there’s plenty to pick from.

From Bisbee to Window Rock and beyond, food festivals are as popular an attraction as saguaro-filled state parks. Fortunately for both locals and visitors , the food festival calendar extends year-round, making for some delectable excuses for road-trips, regardless of season.

Scottsdale’s 30th annual culinary festival, held in early April, satisfied the hoi polloi and the black-tie crowd at the Westin Kierland Resort & Spa with its glitzy Friends of James Beard Benefit dinner. The pricey event ($250 per person) showcased six James Beard-awarded elite chefs who created standout dishes with individually chosen ingredients.

But, if you didn’t want to take out a loan to attend, not to worry. There were plenty more egalitarian venues from which to sample savory brews, Mexican specialties, decadent desserts and S outhwest fare.

The Great Arizona Picnic, which closed the week long celebration, cost a mere $10 admission with $1 tasting coupons. More than 50 of the Valley’s finest restaurants and local eateries offered signature dishes, regional specialties and the ubiquitous margarita.
With live music cheerfully adding an old-timey feel to the Civic Center grounds, hundreds celebrated by partaking in international as well as regional dishes.

Josh Bredimus, an employee at the nearby Hotel Valley Ho, waxed nostalgic about his smorgasbord of gastronomical experiences. “The food is delicious,” he said, of the buffet of delights at the picnic grounds. “I’m kind of a Mediterranean or Asian-food kind of guy,” he laughed. “And I know they always have a great selection for me especially.”
Aromas of pizza, barbecue, curry and some mysterious candy-cane essence wafted over the sprawling Civic Center picnic site, overflowing with crowds dining on beyond-the-pale cuisine.

Jamie Vanravensway of Anthem was there with his family, munching happily on a pulled pork sandwich along with his wife, Tracy, 2-year-old Emma and 6-month-old Nate, snoozing in the back of a double stroller.

“We’ve been here a few times in the past and wanted to check it out,” he said as Emma scarfed a piece of pork. “She really likes it, I’m surprised,” he added as his toddler worked her share of the sandwich.

Tracy’s favorite so far? “The mac and cheese, I admit it,” she smiled. Residents for 16 years, the family echoed other attendee’s sentiments about why they keep coming back. “We’ve been here almost every year and the choices are always surprising,” she sai d. Jamie’s favorite beverage? “Fat Tire,” he answered without hesitation. “Beers are good. ”
Children negotiated slippery, chocolate-covered ice cream kebabs as they watched ducks paddle about in the man made pond on the grounds. Kim Cerato from Chandler struggled with a towering “Berrie-Kabob” that threatened to melt and topple at the same time. She briefly stopped licking the wayward chocolate to render her verdict. “It’s really good,” she said, searching for the right adjective. “It’s really….melty!” she said, laughing and catching a drip before it landed on her top.

Scottsdale siblings Tamika and Marvin Robinson playfully defended their take on Scottsdale’s bounty as they took a break to people-watch.

“I know it’s a cliché,” Tamika said, “b ut in Scottsdale, there’s always a variety of things going on to do, from Nascar to food festivals.” Originally from New York, the two shared sentiments about local pizza. “Once you live in New York,” Marvin said, trailing off. “ Let’s just say the pizza is pretty horrible, so ‘pretty good’ pizza is excellent for Scottsdale,” he laughed.

Nine-year-old Selena Snider of Tempe waited for a bus outside the picnic grounds with her father, Charles, rendered a different pizza verdict. “I liked the pizza,” she said shyly. “The crust was thin and crunchy.”

There are so many different kinds of food festivals throughout the state, said Marjorie Magnusson, public relations manager for the Arizona Office of Tourism, that there is no excuse for people not to explore .

“Yuma is the world’s winter lettuce capital and grows almost 80 percent of the winter lettuce,” she said. “So we celebrate lettuce. You heard of peach festivals, but lettuce days?”

That particular food fest occurs in January and it’s not just about the leafy green veggie, either, she added. “They have contests, educational presentations, displays and all sorts of activities.

“I know that in years past they did the Big Salad Toss-Off or Mr. Lettuce Head contest, fun stuff for the whole family, including lettuce box derbies.”

Another fun one is the Gourd Festival in Casa Grande, usually in February. “They have the Running of the Gourds and it’s pretty funny,” she said describing some of the sillier aspects of this serious culinary business.

Included among the unexpected is the Shrimp Festival, she said. “We live in a desert, but shrimp are farmed for this one in Gila Bend. It’s a very local, community festival and lots of fun,” she added.

Glendale’s Chocolate Festival is a huge affair, she said. The confection is sculpted into pizza shapes and other unusual forms. No wonder families are drawn to this like hummingbirds to your backyard feeder.

Of course no food festival story would be complete without a nod to the umpteen salsa challenges, festivals and the like that are scattered statewide throughout the year. And the requisite hot chile festivals always bring out the dare devil-tasters, Magnusson said.
Tucson’s food scene always delights residents and tourists, said Kimberly Schmitz, director of communication and public relations for Tucson’s Convention and Visitors Bureau.

“Tucson has become famous for its Mexican food, and we have about 150 Mexican restaurants here,” she explained. “But what pleasantly surprised people is the diverse culinary mecca we have for all kinds of foods, not just Southwest. ”
The Tucson Culinary Festival (Oct. 23-26) will reflect that diversity well. “The festival will include James Beard-winning chefs here who have integrated their classic training with indigenous treats, including prickly pear and native basics infused with French culinary techniques, ” Schmitz said.

The festival’s popularity has grown largely because of its respectful nod to the founders, the Tucson Originals, a group of local restaurateurs who were born and raised in the Old Pueblo, Schmitz said. “The festival was started to help individual restaurants work together so they could survive in a world of chains. These folks have worked hard at getting the message out about having Tucson-destination culinary experiences.”

Tucson’s last fest was outstanding, according to the slightly biased spokeswoman , with wine dinners and seminars featuring more than 70 wineries and more than 30 chefs offering their best.

“That was three days of completely incredible food and wine and it kicked off with a world margarita championship,” Schmitz  recalled. She promised the upcoming one would be even more spectacular, from the green chilies to the Sunday brunch, deigned “Blues, Brews and Barbecue.”

For those who like their food one at a time, the first Navajo Village Corn Festival in Page (near the Utah border and Lake Powell, Sept. 20) will offer enough variety of the staple to please the pickiest of palates, according to Olin Cummings, a self-described “Go-fer and corn festival enthusiast.”

“We’ll have all kinds of family activities, cooking contests, corn-husking contests and other fun things,” he said.

For those dedicated to raw, vegan food, Sedona’s third annual Raw Spirit Festival (Sept. 12-14) is not to be missed, according to organizer Shashi Gadegaonkar.
“We are expecting 5,000 people this year,” he said of the festival founded by Happy Oasis, a self-described adventure anthropologist. “We will have presenters and performers who will talk about healthy living, sustainability and the raw vegan movement. ”

“These people are like pioneers because the living food movement is sweeping across the country and the world,” Gadegaonkar said.

Nine stages will be filled with demonstrations, the grounds will teem with 40 food vendors and local farmers will tote their produce.

“We’ll have collard wraps, delicious fresh fruit smoothies and juices and incredible desserts,” Gadegaonkar said, “The food will be amazing, including carob ‘cheesecake’ (made with cashews), mango papaya ice cream and raw banana splits. ”

The raw vegan pioneers aren’t the only ones working on uncharted terrain. In April, Jerry Samaniego was busy checking a pizza in his solar-powered oven at Catalina State Park in Oro Valley.

His group, Citizens for Solar, have been actively recruiting food mavens to give up the grill and harness the sun for a satisfying repaste. This spring’s day long event drew die hard solar devotees and maybe a few converts, with the hope that word spreads about the practical aspects of using the sun’s energy to cook and bake.

“This pot-luck event has been going on for a long, long time,” he said as he tended his slow-cooking pie and a strand of solar-rotisseried hot dogs. “It’s a great event to solar-cook and hang out with the solar community. It refreshes my outlook on humanity,” he laughed.

Photos courtesy of the Tucson Culinary Festival

if you go

April

Scottsdale Culinary Festival

Locations throughout Scottsdale.

480-945-7193; scottsdaleculinaryfestival.org.

Solar Food Festival (Oro Valley)

Catalina State Park

11570 N. Oracle Rd.

520-749-3538; citizensforsolar.org.

My Nana’s Salsa Challenge

Tempe Beach Park

80 W. Rio Salado Pkwy.

602-955-3947; salsachallenge.com.

January

Yuma Lettuce Days

Historic Downtown Yuma

Main Street

928-782-5712; yumalettucedays.com.

February

Gourd Festival (Casa Grande)

Wuertz Farm

2487 E. Highway 287

520-723-4432; wuertzfarm.com

Glendale Chocolate Affaire

Downtown Glendale

623-930-2299; glendaleaz.com/events

September

Raw Spirit Festival (Sedona)

Radisson Resort

1752 S. Highway 179

928-777-1066; rawspirit.com

Navajo Village Corn Festival (Page)

Navajo Village Heritage Center

1253 Coppermine Rd.

928-660-0304; navajovillage.com

October

Tucson Culinary Festival

Loews Ventana Canyon Resort

7000 N. Resort

520-488-8601; tucsonculinaryfestival.com

For more detailed information on the state’s burgeoning food festivals, check out the web site: www.arizonaguide.com and search for culinary festivals.