New mac and cheese festival comes to downtown Phoenix this weekend

It's easy being cheesy at this new food festival. What to know about tickets, performances, the menu and more.

May 19, 2025

Image: A new festival celebrating all things mac and cheese is coming to downtown Phoenix this weekend.

A new festival celebrating all things mac and cheese is coming to downtown Phoenix this weekend. Fudio/Adobe

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Get ready to say cheese this weekend as a new macaroni and cheese-themed festival rolls into downtown Phoenix.

The Phoenix Mac & Cheese Festival is set to take over Chase Field on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The festival will be inside the air conditioning to keep attendees from melting as they taste their way around the stadium.

The festival will include 12 different flavors of macaroni and cheese, including Chicken Parmesan, Philly Cheesesteak, Frito Pie and Loaded Baked Potato among others. The stacked noodles will be available in 4-ounce servings, so attendees can try multiple as they walk around the stadium. One to two flavors will be on offer at different concession stands throughout the main concourse, sold for $7 each.

Along with plenty of creamy, cheesy noodles and bites inspired by the classic dish, the festival will also include a kids zone with games and activities, live pro wrestling, mac and cheese and French fry-eating contests and live music. There will also be a meet-and-greet with Thomas Ian Nicholas. The musician and actor is best known from the movies "American Pie" and "Rookie of the Year."

Tickets for the festival are available online and general admission costs $21.60. There are discounted family four packs plus three different levels of VIP tickets are available, from $56 to $122.

While the festival falls in the middle of baseball season, the Arizona Diamondbacks will play the St. Louis Cardinals in Missouri this weekend, leaving Chase Field prepped and ready to celebrate all things mac and cheese.

Mac & Cheese Festival

May 24, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.
Chase Field
401 E. Jefferson St.

Tirion Boan is the Food Editor of Phoenix New Times where she’s worked since May 2022. Tirion keeps a close eye on restaurant openings and closings, offers dining recommendations and reports on metro Phoenix food news and trends. She also publishes major annual lists like Top 100 Bars and Top 100 Restaurants, and contributes to the Best of Phoenix project. Tirion previously worked for publications including The Arizona Republic and The Tucson Weekly. She holds a bachelor’s of arts in journalism from the University of Arizona.

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