What’s cookin’ at the 2022 Tucson Meet Yourself festival

Oct 4, 20223 min read

Well, the time has come. It’s that wonderful time of year when thousands meet up, eat, and treat themselves.

The annual Tucson Meet Yourself is taking over parts of downtown for a weekend of fun from 11 a.m. – 10 p.m. on Friday, October 7 – Saturday, October 8, and then 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. on Sunday, October 9.

Takoyaki from Takoyaki Balls (Credit: Jackie Tran)

As was seen in previous years, Tucson Meet Yourself is designated to a certain area, and this year it’s going to be absorbing three city blocks by the Jacomé Plaza, which is in front of the Joel D. Valdez Main Library.

There’s going to be more than 100 artists and performing groups sharing music, dance, and their crafts. The artists will be spread all around so come equipped with your walkin’ shoes and take a glance at the performance schedule to plan accordingly.

Crafts at Tucson Meet Yourself (Photo courtesy of Tucson Meet Yourself on Facebook)

Additionally, keep an eye out for lowriders. The Dukes Car Club of Tucson will be presenting a collection of cars and demonstrations on how to trick out your own ride. It’s truly a west coast tradition of “embellishing the ordinary.”

Another attraction worth making some time for is the Memory Tent: Songs of Love & Aging. It’s a new space at the festival that celebrates the “folklife of remembrance” and all of the ways we remember, grieve, and commemorate change or loss. You’ll have the opportunity to put on songs in a public jukebox, share your own stories with the crowd, spread love songs in the “Memory Chair,” and show off your skills on stage with a guitar or Karaoke.

El Taco Rustico (Photo by Anna Smirnova)

Last but not least, you can expect to find more than 45 food vendors that’ll be representing several cultural regions.

Be sure to invite your appetite along for the walk while getting whiffs of multiple aromas from the following food vendors. Below is the list of this year’s grumbly-tummy-fixers (tap or click each one to see its menu).

Participating “Tucson Meet Yourself” Food Vendors

Moreno’s Roasted at Tucson Meet Yourself (Photo courtesy of Tucson Meet Yourself)

A couple of neat tidbits about the festival include how the city is making the festival even “greener” this year. They’ll be setting up water stations throughout the area so you can fill up your reusable bottle for free.

Also, Tucson Meet Yourself has teamed up again with the University of Arizona’s Compost Cats to compost festival food waste. In previous years, they’ve diverted 35% of food waste from ending up in a landfill and then used it as compost for local agriculture.

Tucson Meet Yourself will be located at Jacomé Plaza, in front of the Joel D. Valdez Main Library at 101 N. Stone Ave. For more information, visit tucsonmeetyourself.org.

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Article written by:

Matt Sterner

More about Matt

At a very young age, Matt Sterner was gifted with the artistic ability to masterfully roll a burrito to the highest of standards, but the wrapped medley of delicious innards wasn’t his first love. Matt’s first true love was a combination of reading, writing, and creating. He grew up reading comics, the ingredients list of his shampoo and conditioner bottles, choose-your-own-adventure books, and the Scrabble dictionary — something he found useful when challenging his grandmother to a game.

He attended college at New Mexico State University and graduated with a degree in Digital Filmmaking. One of his favorite classes was screenwriting because he became responsible for the story’s birth before it came to life on-screen. After school, Matt took on numerous positions at a local television station in Tucson. From dealing out stories about heartbreak to producing “fluffier” content for a lifestyle broadcast, he learned what it takes to adapt to the many emotions the world of media can stir. Since 2017, Matt has dabbled in the culinary world of Tucson as well as San Diego, California from time to time.

If you’re in the mood for strange stories, head over to his pride and joy, wonkytimes.com. And in case you’re curious — yes, after all of this time, he still manages to roll a killer burrito.