Saturday, August 29 · 5–10 PM · Tohono Chul
Get tickets — from $55A one-night-only celebration
Desert Magic is a celebration of the Sonoran Desert — a sunset gathering honoring its culinary and medicinal gifts through food, herbalism, music, and journeys of healing. Wander lit pathways through the Gardens at Tohono Chul as the desert cools into evening.
What to expect
Stations wind through the gardens, where nine of Tucson's most celebrated chefs each serve a 3–4 oz plate inspired by native desert ingredients — chiltepin, mesquite, prickly pear, native corn, squash.
The lineup
Stations wind through the gardens — chefs serving plates built around native desert ingredients, and practitioners offering plant-medicine experiences and ceremony. Browse everyone confirmed so far.
Every food and wellness experience is included with your ticket unless a card says otherwise.
Chef
Christian Padilla
An independent private chef in Tucson, Christian Padilla cooks across pop-ups, collaborations and multicourse dinners. At Desert Magic 2025 he served cured aloe vera nigiri with burnt tortilla ash sushi rice and a matcha and hierba buena atole.
David Marks
Chef at Tohono Chul Garden Bistro, David Marks cooks Desert Magic on his own grounds. At the 2025 edition he served pecan-smoked pork and local squash braised in prickly pear juice with borracho tepary beans. He took third at the 2026 World Margarita Championship.
David Solorzano
Chef at Agustin Kitchen in the Mercado District, David Solorzano returns after a 2025 Desert Magic plate of Mechudo bean soup with Pima corn chochoyotes, purslane and wild spinach in a bacanora and chiltepin vinaigrette.
Devon Sanner
Chef at Ventana Canyon Club & Lodge, co-owner of Zio Peppe, and a founder of the Gastronomic Union of Tucson, Devon Sanner is an Iron Chef Tucson finalist who has represented the city abroad, cooking in Parma, Italy with Tucson City of Gastronomy.
Gracie Soto
Gracie Soto is the third generation behind Anita's Street Market, the Barrio Anita institution her grandmother Grace Soto opened more than 40 years ago. She has carried the tortilla and burro counter forward since 2020, rallying the community to keep its doors open.
José Contreras
Chef at Amelia's Mexican Kitchen and a 2026 James Beard Award semifinalist, José Contreras cooked at the James Beard Foundation Platform dinner in August 2026. He is expanding with Carrizal Molino + Cocina, a nixtamal-focused project.
Ken Foy
A two-time Tucson Iron Chef winner, in 2022 and 2023, Ken Foy built Dante's Fire on scratch cooking and local sourcing across 13 years on Grant Road. The midtown restaurant closed in July 2026, and the cooking that made it a staple comes to Desert Magic.
Obie Hindman
Executive chef at the Mountain Oyster Club and a Tucson City of Gastronomy chef ambassador, Obie Hindman is a founding figure in the Gastronomic Union of Tucson. Tucson Foodie profiled him in 2022 as an old punk chef whose cooking runs on instinct and community.
Pablo Valencia
Chef and co-founder of Scratching the Plate with Katherine Carbone, Pablo Valencia builds his cooking around live fire. "Our specialty really is the life of the campfire and how that can actually integrate into our everyday cuisine," he told Tucson Foodie. He returns after cooking Desert Magic 2025.
Wellness Practitioner
Awakened Wombs
Somatic therapy · Chiropractic alignment
Free pelvic and spine screenings throughout the event.
Not included with your ticketOptional 20-minute womb care session, $40
CuraVida Bodywork
Massage therapy · Sound healing · Herbal energy cleansing
Table massage and copal limpias, rotating throughout the event with sound healing on crystal singing bowls.
Emma Vasseur Wellbeing Coach & Evolutionary Astrologer
Astrology readings
Just as every desert plant evolved to thrive where it is, we each carry patterns that shaped us, and openings to grow beyond them. A 10 to 15 minute Soul Pattern Reading uses your birth date, time and place to surface one theme you're working with now.
Heart Nectar
Reiki · Somatic therapy · Sound healing · Cacao ceremony · Breathwork
Take a few moments to pause, breathe, and come back to yourself. Marie of Heart Nectar will be offering short breathwork sessions to help the community release tension, calm the mind, and feel more centered.
Inner Bliss Energetics
Reiki · Sound healing · Human design readings
Feeling tired, burned out, or directionless? Come cozy up with Jamie of Inner Bliss Energetics. Whether you're curious how you make decisions and use your energy, or want to be held through Reiki or sound, her space is a moment of calm. ✨
Jessi Kyte Bodywork
Massage therapy
15-minute hand massage.
Medicine Within
Herbal energy cleansing
A sacred spiritual bath, or herbal cleansing. As a group you are gently sprinkled with water infused with the essence of each plant, carrying an intention for your highest good. Expect aromatic desert plants in the air and a cooling sensation in the heat.
Readings by Zev
Clairvoyant reading and healing
Short-form, single-question clairvoyant readings, each ending with a healing. Zev trained at Psychic Horizons in San Francisco and has offered readings and meditation training since 2009.
Tantric Heart
Intimacy and embodiment coaching
An intimacy and embodiment coach weaving Tantra, Taoist philosophy, somatic healing and breathwork. At Desert Magic she offers a one-minute eye-gazing experience: sitting in silence, meeting another's gaze, with no need to perform or speak.
The Gathering Point Community Acupuncture
Acupuncture · Auriculotherapy
I will offer information about acupuncture and my clinic. I will also do auricular ear seeds for those interested. I will have a box of needles with me and can do demos on what acupuncture feels like for those who have never tried it.
The Healing Hub
Somatic therapy · Sound healing · Crystals and jewelry
At our station, guests will be able to explore a curated selection of jewelry and crystals, learn more about the different pieces, and enjoy a relaxing sound bath experience featuring crystal singing bowls and other resonant instruments.
The Somatic Sound
Massage therapy · Somatic therapy · Sound healing · 13 Moon Calendar Readings
I will be offering Vocal Sound Healings with a guided meditative journey and somatic touch.
Toe-Rific Touch Reflexology
Reflexology
I'll be offering mini-reflexology sessions: ten to thirty minutes, whatever you desire.
Not included with your ticketBy donation, no one turned away
Retail
Play the scavenger hunt
Two cards, one for the chefs and one for the practitioners. Ask the maker on each square their question, fill in the answer, and enough right answers puts you in the prize drawing.
Start the huntSign in before you wander — signal is patchy in the garden.
Building something for the lineup? Apply to join us
Music & sound
Live music, sound healing, and guided somatic experiences as the light goes down.
Ambient music from:
- Tucson Modern Jazz Quartet
- Rosa 🌹 Dragona 🐲
- LaDev 🌟
Tickets
Early Bird
Save $20 off full admission — a limited number of Early Bird tickets are available.
General Admission
Includes all food, wellness experiences, and a botanical welcome cocktail. Additional drinks, products, and aura photography available for purchase at the event.
Last Call
Space is limited — expected to sell out
Get tickets on EventbriteRain or shine. All sales final — no refunds, exchanges, or transfers.
Know before you go
- Where
- Tohono Chul · 7366 N Paseo Del Norte, Tucson, AZ 85704
Get directions - When
- Saturday, August 29, 2026 · 5–10 PM MST
Arizona doesn't observe daylight saving — MST year-round is the same clock time as Pacific Daylight Time in summer.
Add to calendar - Accessibility
Stations are spread through the gardens along lit, unpaved desert pathways after sunset.
- What to wear
- Late-August Tucson evenings open warm — expect upper 90s°F at 5 PM, cooling into the low-to-mid 80s°F by 10 PM. Light, breathable layers, sun protection for the first hour, and closed-toe shoes for garden paths are all worth it.
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Tohono Chul · Salus