Sample More than 100 Salsas at a Mesa Festival This Weekend

Chips will crackle and margaritas will flow.

April 11, 2018

Image: Over 100 salsas will be featured at Nana's Best Tasting Salsa Challenge

Over 100 salsas will be featured at Nana's Best Tasting Salsa Challenge Melissa Fossum

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If margaritas and salsa-ing (the food kind, not the dancing) are your thing, then head down to My Nana's Best Tasting Salsa Challenge this weekend. The salsas will be served on Saturday and Sunday, April 14 and 15. You'll be able to sample more than 100 total, with beers and margaritas to balance the spice.

This year, the event's 34th, the festivities have relocated to Sloan Park in Mesa.

The two-day event will feature live music and a kid's zone, where you can keep the little ones entertained. Beers can be purchased for $6 and margaritas for $8. Food will be provided by the ballpark at added cost of entry, $15 (free for kids under 12).

The way it works is you get a FREE bag of chips for salsa dipping. In between sampling chips and salsa, you can head over to the salsa competition, where locals and restaurant chefs will compete for the best salsa in three individual categories: Mild, Hot, and Anything Goes.

The final winner from each day will take home $1,000 and be eligible to compete in the upcoming Cinco de Mayo D-Backs Ultimate Salsa Challenge.

click to enlarge

Attendees will receive a chip bag for tasting

Melissa Fossum

The margaritas will flow, many as part of a competition. Bartenders will showcase their margarita mixing skills in hopes of winning the judges' votes for the Valley's best margarita.

More than 20,000 people are expected to attend, and judges won't be the only ones determining the best salsa makers in town. Attendees can also vote, by leaving dollar donations to your favorite salsa makers.

The event runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday. Proceeds will be donated to the Arizona Hemophilia Association.

A message from Food & Drink Editor Tirion Boan: If you value independent journalism, please consider making a contribution to support our continued coverage of Phoenix's evolving dining scene and the chefs and restaurants that serve our community.

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