Primavera Cooks! returns for 2026 with four wine-paired fundraiser dinners in Tucson

For 24 years, Primavera Cooks! has raised funds for programs at the Primavera Foundation. This year's dining series supports emergency services including shelters, drop-in centers, and outreach. The 2026 series runs across four dinners from August through October, each hosted at a different Tucson restaurant. Diner tickets cost $195 per person, which covers tax and gratuity, and 50% qualifies as a tax-deductible donation to the Primavera Foundation. Full details and tickets are available at primavera.org.

The Primavera Foundation has served Tucson and Pima County for decades, working to connect people experiencing crisis with housing, employment, and emergency resources.

For more on the organization's programs, visit primavera.org/what-we-do.

Primavera Cooks! connects that mission directly to Tucson's restaurant community, turning a fine dining evening into a fundraiser with real community impact.

The 2026 dinner lineup

Four restaurants host the 2026 Primavera Cooks! series. Each dinner includes a reception from 6-6:30 p.m. and dinner service beginning at 6:30 p.m.

• Feast, Tuesday, Aug. 12. Buy tickets here

• Agustin Kitchen, Monday, Aug. 25. Buy tickets here

• NEX Tucson, Saturday, Sept. 13. Buy tickets here

• Chef Janos, Carriage House, Friday, Oct. 30. Buy tickets here

Feast changes its menu every single month and pairs its rotating kitchen with a well-curated wine list. Agustin Kitchen occupies a brasserie-style space in the Mercado San Agustín, drawing on New American cuisine made with ingredients local to Southern Arizona. The Carriage House is the events and catering venue Chef Janos Wilder operates at 125 S. Arizona Ave., steps from his former Downtown Kitchen. Wilder earned a James Beard Award for Best Chef Southwest in 2000 and played a central role in establishing Tucson's designation as a UNESCO City of Gastronomy.

How Primavera Cooks! works

Cooks! pairs a three-to-four-day cooking apprenticeship with a five-course dinner. There are three ways to participate: sign up as an apprentice, join as a diner, or support through a sponsorship. The apprenticeship is the engine of the event. Apprentices meet with the restaurant chef in advance to create the menu, then typically spend three days working alongside the chef to prepare, cook, and plate all courses. Each apprentice is responsible for bringing at least five guests to the dinner. Apprentice tickets cost $375.

Diners do not need to know an apprentice to attend. Dinners are open to anyone, and tickets cost $195, which covers tax and gratuity. Half of the ticket price qualifies as a tax-deductible donation. Sponsors receive recognition across all Cooks! marketing materials, including the website, menus, and social media.

Sponsorship levels

• Presenting ($15,000+): 10 complimentary tickets and top billing across all Cooks! materials, website, menus, social media, and a shoutout at all dinners.

• Gold ($5,000-$14,999): 8 complimentary tickets and prominent listing in all Cooks! materials.

• Silver ($3,000-$4,999): 6 complimentary tickets and listing in all Cooks! materials.

• Bronze ($1,000-$2,999): 4 complimentary tickets and listing in all Cooks! materials.

• Friend of Cooks! ($500-$999): 2 complimentary tickets and listing in all Cooks! materials.

To become a sponsor, download the sponsorship form and email it to Philanthropy and Donor Relations Officer Pete Corrigan at pcorrigan@primavera.org. For questions about any aspect of the series, contact Corrigan at (520) 308-3106, ext. 1352.