Barrio Centro Fiesta: Smokin’ barbecue, live music, a car show & more

From noon – 5 p.m. on Sunday, November 6, the annual Barrio Centro Fiesta invites everyone to join in on the festivities. The big bash hosted by Flowers & Bullets is free to attend and takes place at Bristol Park, which is located at 1720 S. Bristol Ave. — south of 22nd Street on the edge of Aviation Highway.

The fiesta’s food is being taken care of by Still Smokin’ BBQ. They’ll be serving up different barbecue favorites and vegan options as well. Plus, get this, the first 200 meals are free (50 of those plates will be vegan).

“Special Thanks to Still Smokin’ BBQ for cooking for us this year,” Flowers & Bullets shared on Instagram. “Since moving from Texas he has integrated himself in the Tucson community and has fired up his smoker out of passion and love.”

Aside from the food, there’s going to be activities for kids, raffle prizes, vendors selling their locally-crafted merchandise, a piñata, and a car show. If you’d like to enter your ride into the car show, there’s a $5 fee and the categories include Best Bomb, Best Lowrider, Best Truck, Best Unfinished Project, and the Barrio Centro Fiesta Finest.

What the local organization is all about

Flowers & Bullets is a community organization that focuses on reclaiming and amplifying “cultural roots through sustainability, art, and rebellion to liberate, heal, and empower” the community.

“We are organizers creating outlets for under-served youth and communities, which highlight the life we live and the places that we come from. By sharing skills, promoting place-based connections in the barrio, and listening to each other’s stories we promote sustainable ways of living. These ways of life address some of the traumas in our community, caused by disproportionate minority incarceration, drug addiction, physical and mental violence, food insecurity, health issues, and economic disparity.”

One of the activities the group hosts are multiple gardening sessions that involve prepping plant beds for new seasons and working to maintain native habitats in the area.

Bristol Park is located at 1720 S. Bristol Ave. For more information, follow Flowers & Bullets on Facebook and Instagram.