Nirvana Food and Wine Throwing a Glitzy, Blowout Festival This Weekend

Nirvana Food and Wine will be bringing a four-day blowout festival to Camelback Mountain Resort & Spa this long weekend.

The second annual festival kicks off on Thursday. Its tastings and themed parties will be opulent and expensive, the "cheapest" one $135. That's a lot to drop on a single event of a food festival. But if you can swing it this weekend, some of Nirvana's events look tantalizing.

Big-name chefs from Arizona and large cold cities will be “headlining” the festival's various events. Each of the main events will be held at Sanctuary.

Thursday kicks off with Bourbon Street Blues, a New Orleans-style masquerade spotlighting food and jazz, yes, but cocktails most of all. Jason Asher of Sanctuary's Jade Bar (plus other noted Valley bars) will host. Attendees are encouraged to don masquerade attire.

Following this Thursday's opener, a hurricane of haute dinners, golf soirees, and champagne-and-fried-chicken events whirls through Sunday.

Matt Carter (The Mission, Fat Ox) will be hosting the Thursday dinner that follows Mission Street Blues, a dinner showcasing Sonoma wines. Christopher Gross (Christopher's) will be one of the hosts of Friday's dinner. These dinners have limited availability.

Most likely, you'll want to shoot for the other events. They include, on Friday, Birds & Bubbles, a sampling that will bring together various chefs' takes on an unlikely combination: fried chicken and champagne. Jacob Cutino (Homeboy's Hotsauce), Stephen Jones (The Larder + the Delta), and Rochelle Daniels (Fat Ox) will be among the many local chefs cooking here.

On Saturday, a "Rosé Parté" will take place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

On Saturday night, Nirvana will unfold "Best of the West," an event that looks to be the festival's jewel. The event, hosted by Scott Conant (Mora Italian) will see food and booze creations spread throughout Sanctuary, bringing attendees all over the property. Lots of local talent will be cooking.

On Sunday, the four-day whirlwind of events ends with a Mexican-themed brunch event that promises "tequila, tequila, and more tequila."

If you're looking to attack the upcoming weekend, consider heading to Sanctuary. You can get a pass to all the opulence for $444, which is more than half the GDP per capita of Burundi.