[pullquote]
What
Salsa & Tequila Challenge 
When
7 p.m., Sat., August 20
Where
La Encantada Shopping Center
2905 E. Skyline Drive
More Info
saaca.org
[/pullquote]

The Southern Arizona Arts & Cultural Alliance is hosting the sixth annual Salsa & Tequila Challenge at 7 p.m. on Saturday, August 20 at the La Encantada Shopping Center.

The event features salsa and tequila tastings from over 40 different vendors and restaurants. Each vendor will offer different salsas with traditional flavors like chunky tomato, as well as unusual flavors like smoked peach.

Vendors will also bring their best tequila infused mixed drinks, popsicles, and snow cones to the event.

Various menu items are also available, including carne asada tacos and Aguachile summer rolls.

Professional judges will be present at the event to reward the best salsas and tequila.

The following restaurants will be present at the event:

• Angie’s Gourmet To Go Restaurant — Angie’s Salsa: Fiercely Magnificent Mango, and habanero salsa
• Cactus Slap Salsa — Smoked peach salsa, and Thai pineapple salsa
• Casino Del Sol — Sweet tequila cocktail Centeotl, Sangrita, roasted corn salsa, and traditional pico de gallo fruit salad
• Chef Chic — Smokin’ red salsa, and roasted salsa verde
• Click Cafe — Armando flavor city salsa, and salsa sol
• Crossroads — La India salsa with roasted caribe yellow hot peppers, De La Abuela Roasted Chile de Arbol, and carne asada tacos with beans
• Dante’s Fire — Prickly pear margarita, spicy pineapple margarita, Pablo Valencia desert harvest salsa, and Fantasna Feliz salsa
• Driftwood Pub & Kitchen — Spherical tequila bloody Mary, Sonoran Water with lime juice, soda water and prickly pear, Salsa Roja, and carnitas with cabbage, red onion, and cilantro
• El Cisne — sweet tequila cocktail Chapala Street Car, Cisne Salsa de la Casa, Picoso salsa with roasted tomatillo jalapeño and Mexican spices, and mole delights
• Elvira’s — sweet tequila cocktail Kiss Me Through the Foam, Elvira’s Tears Salsa, and chile toreado
• El Charro — TBA
• Fini’s Landing — sweet tequila cocktail Casas Espinas, and Hefe Melones salsa with cantaloupe and toasted chile de arbol
• Gringo Grill + Cantina — Alternative salsa, and traditional salsa
• Harvest — TBA
• Highwire Lounge — HW Pearl Shot Sphereified Tequila, and Vaporized Margarita
• Johnny Gibson’s Downtown Market — House salsa
• JW Marriott Starr Pass — Tequila mojito, sweet tequila, mojito pico de gallo salsa with fresh jimaca, oranges, and mint, salsa fresca with tomatillo, and Arrachera Carpaccio
• Le Buzz Cafe — Chile manzano and pineapple salsa, and chunky tomato salsa
• Macayo’s — fire roasted tomatillo salsa, Pepe’s picante salsa, and red corn chicken taquitos
• Melting Pot — Mole infused margarita, and deconstructed mole salsa
• Pasco Kitchen & Red’s Smokehouse — The Father Kino tequila cocktail, smoked and infused tequila, scotch bonito and ginger salsa, Red’s house mix hot sauce salsa, and smoked hog
• [POPPED] Artisan Popcorn — Varieties of Artisan popcorn
• Queen Ceviche — Dusty’s Margarita
• Reforma Cocina Y Cantina — Habanero salsa, and red chile tomatillo salsa
• Rigo’s Restaurant — Green Passion margarita with jalapeño and cucumber, infused cucumber mojito, salsa de molcagete salsa, and tomatillo salsa
• Saffron Indian Bistro — Chicken tikka masala, and vegetable biryani
• Table of Elementz — Sweet and spicy barbecue cocktail, smokey sweet tamarind salsa, prickly pair, thai chile, and grilled pineapple salsa, and Asian cucumber salad
• Taste Like Burning Salsa Company — HellFire, and Brimstone Resurrected salsa
• The Living Room — Salsa verde, and Chilaquiles with green chili chicken, cotija cheese, crème fraiche, and cilantro
• The Roasted Chile — New Mexican hatch chile, and prickly pear margarita
• Westin La Paloma — WLP Margarita, salsa de guajillo salsa, and Aguachile summer rolls

Beer and tequila samples will also be available from twelve breweries, including Barrio Brewing Company, Breakthru Beverage Group, Three Wells Distilling Company, and Sierra Nevada Brewing Company.

And for non-alcoholic beverages, Sonoran Sno-Cones and Fermented Tea Company will be at the event.

In addition to food and drinks, the event will feature local band Orquesta Salsarengue, Ballet Folklorico dancers, and a mariachi band.

Tickets for the event are priced at $55 per person and include salsa and tequila samples from each vendor. This is a 21+ event.

Proceeds for the event will go towards SAACA and the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona.

For more information, visit saaca.org. To purchase tickets, visit the Salsa and Tequila Challenge on Thundertix.