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Photos courtesy of the Arizona Taco Festival THE RETURN OF FOOD FESTIVALS From tacos to pizza, foodies are ready for fun David Tyda, the owner of PHX Fest, is well known as a Phoenix food festival guru with more than 10 years of experience bringing together chefs, suppliers and lovers of tacos, pizza, French fries and donuts for events that celebrate food and community. Tyda’s business drastically changed when the pandemic hit. He became an advocate for the industry, as organizers of large live events like food festivals were some of the hardest hit. As COVID statistics improve and restrictions are lifting, festivals are coming back and people are excited to return to live events. “More than ever, people are recognizing the value of the communal experience, and festivals are gearing up for their best year ever,” said Tyda, whose last food festival was in November 2019. Tyda is planning a two-day pizza and donut event in November 2021 in downtown Phoenix and other festivals in 2022, including the Gilbert Pizza Festival and the French Fry Festival. Tyda is also opening Barcoa, a tequila and mezcal bar in downtown Phoenix with Ryan Oberholtzer of Provecho, a Mexican restaurant at The Churchill. “The bar will have a garage door for taco trucks, which will keep me connected to the taco community,” Tyda said. “It allows me to expand into another area of Mexican cuisine and work with local businesses.” “ MORE THAN EVER, PEOPLE ARE RECOGNIZING THE VALUE OF THE COMMUNAL EXPERIENCE, AND FESTIVALS ARE GEARING UP FOR THEIR BEST YEAR EVER.” Formerly owned by Tyda’s company, the Arizona Taco Festival is scheduled to return to Salt River Fields at Talking Stick in October. “We’re very excited about the return of the Arizona Taco Festival and so is the public. We’ve sold more tickets than ever before this far out. We are very hopeful that we will have the biggest turnout in festival history,” said Kerry Dunne, principal of R Entertainment, producer of the Arizona Taco Festival. “The Arizona Taco Festival is a food festival disguised as a party with restaurants, food trucks and chefs assembled at one location for guests to discover, purchase and savor a wide variety of tacos,” said Dunne. In addition to food from 70 taco makers, the Arizona Taco Festival features a Chihuahua beauty pageant, hot chili pepper eating contest, music, tequila tastings and more. Tyda and Dunne plan to have multiple safety measures in place at upcoming festivals and are excited about the future. “The events industry is going to make a huge comeback,” Dunne said. “People are ready to party and the Arizona Taco Festival is one of the largest parties in town.” For a calendar of culinary events and festivals, visit foodiefosho.com . FRONTDOORS MEDIA | 75 | AUG/SEPT 2021