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 on Friday, October 4 (from 11 a.m. – 10 p.m.), Saturday, October 5 (from 11 a.m. – 10 p.m.), and Sunday, October 6 (from 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.).
As was seen in previous years, Tucson Meet Yourself is designated to a certain area, and this year it’s going to be occupying three city blocks by the Jacomé Plaza (101 N. Stone Ave.), which is in front of the Joel D. Valdez Main Library.
There’s going to be around 150 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.
You can expect to find more than 50 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.
Participating Food & Beverage Vendors
- Bar Down Fitness & Nutrition
- Belicious Waffles
- Bollywood Pizza Company
- David’s Outdoor Kitchen
- Doshirok Korean
- El Antojo Poblano
- El Golden Taco
- Espressoul Cafe
- Hungry Kephua
- OaxaRico
- Purple Devil Donuts
- Purple Tree – Organic Acai Blends
- Samurai Sombrero
- Tucson Eat Yourself Sonoran Hot Dogs
- Acai Paradise
- Boriken Modern Puerto Rican Cuisine
- Cafe Francais
- Che Cafe
- Churros Izunza
- Cocina Oaxaquena
- CP’s Wings
- Eatgypt
- Empanadas El Dominicano
- Ensenada Street Food
- Food 2 Door Catering
- Friesy
- Hawaiian Shaved Ice
- Herculean Chicken
- J’s Kettle Corn
- Kingston Kitchen
- Lajkonik Polish Folk Ensemble
- Laos Academic Organization
- Los Chiquilines Aguas Frescas
- MAD Filipino Cooking
- Malta Joe’s Baked Goods
- Merhaba Cafe
- Moreno’s Roasted Corn
- Natalka Ukrainian Bakery
- O’odham Ladies
- Off the Hook Seafood
- Order of Ahepa Greek Food
- Pam’s Kitchen
- Patricia’s Cuban Kitchen
- Pupuseria Rosita’s
- Ricuras de Venezuela
- Salima’s Bakery
- San Xavier Cooperative Farm
- Sema Foundation Turkish
- Solid Grindz Hawaiian Food
- Sonoran Delights
- Syrian Sweets by Nihad
- Takoyaki Balls
- Tucson Afghan Community
- Tucson Tea Company
- UA Chinese Student Association
- UA Filipino Student Association
- UA Vietnamese Student Association
- Wat Buddhametta
And Don’t Miss…
- Folklife Everywhere: “We’re saturating the festival grounds — literally —with invitations to reflect on your own folklife. How do you greet your friends? What’s your nickname? What’s a tradition you learned from an elder?”
- Dukes for a Day: Catch the lowrider car show only on Saturday at 41 E. Pennington/Congress St., a parking lot across from City High School.
- Traditions in Motion: A pop-up exhibit from Arizona State Museum celebrating car culture artistry and adaptation artistry in the Indigenous Southwest.
- Community Matters: 75 community education projects and cultural entrepreneurs showcasing their causes and goods.
- Heritage Beer Garden: For the second year in a row, Tucson Meet Yourself is partnering with Borderlands Brewing to bring a sampling of heritage brews inspired by Southern Arizona culture and geography. New location this year on Church and Pennington.
- Commitment to Accountability: “We listen to you! Find new audience surveys and past results here and learn about the guest folklorist evaluating our work this year.”
For more information, visit tucsonmeetyourself.org.
Article written by:
Matt Sterner
More about MattAt 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.
