Saturday, July 18 and Sunday, July 19, Oxnard’s Collection at Riverpark will be the site of the Tequila and Tacos Music Festival. The event,which will be anchored around Tequila Day on Saturday and Mas Margaritas Day on Sunday, will also feature the best and most innovative music on both days, excellent taco vendors, craft beers, Kid’s and Adult’s Play Zones and More.
Vincenzo Giammanco, Promoter and Producer of the 3rdnd Annual Tequila and Tacos Music Festival, sat down for a few minutes to answer some questions about the upcoming event.
Q: Tell me about the Tequila and Tacos Festival….
This is our third year for the Tequila and Tacos Festival happening at the Collection at Riverpark. It is a two day festival; Saturday we have top-shelf Tequila tastings and cocktails. We have awesome street tacos from all sorts of different taco vendors and craft beers and margaritas.
We also have some great live music. Headlining on Saturday is a band called Metalachi. They’re on NBC’s ‘America’s Got Talent’ this season and they just got through. They’re a heavy metal band that plays mariachi music. Really different, entertaining, something you really haven’t seen before. There’s a lot of different aspects of it, it’s a beautiful venue, kids 12 and under are free. It is family-friendly, we have a small play area for kids and a larger play area for adults.
Q: Saturday will be Tequila tasting?
It’s ten bucks to get in. If you don’t want to come in and do tequila tastings, you can come in, eat tacos, walk around, buy margaritas and stuff like that. If you do the Tequila Experience, you’re going to get 5 half ounce samples of tequila, a souvenir tasting glass; and there will be about 40 different tequila brands represented and you’ll be able to pick the different ones you’d like to sample.
Q: what about Sunday’s events?
Sunday is called Mas Margaritas and is more about people coming out and enjoying the weather, eating tacos and drinking varieties of margaritas—we have a strawberry jalapeno margarita that is really awesome and delicious. It has a nice little kick to it and people really enjoy that. We also have a greats band lineup with The Bomb, a local punk band. Headlining on Sunday is Foreverland, which is a 14 piece tribute to Michael Jackson. They are absolutely incredible. Even if you don’t like Michael Jackson, they are so entertaining and so fun to watch that they will bet you moving. We’ve had them before at other events and they are definitely the ones to see.
What about the tacos at the event?
We have searched high and low for the best street tacos both in Ventura County and across the state so we have all different kinds of tacos. We have your standard, traditional street tacos, but then we have some different shellfish and other tacos that you can’t get anywhere else. Each vendor has their own style of taco and family recipes that have been passed down for hundreds of years so it’s a great place to eat some awesome tacos and different combinations
Q: What’s your favorite tequila drink?
I personally like Alquimia Tequila, which is a little brand that is starting to get nationally known. It is very smooth and goes down very well. It’s interesting, because when people think of tequila, they only think of Patron and Jose Cuevro. If you have to use a lime to drink your tequila then you’re not drinking the right tequila. A good quality, craft tequila you should be able to sip and enjoy.
Q: what type of events do you enjoy doing?
We produce a number of different styles and varieties of festivals and I think it is more of just organizing, coming up with the creative ideas and contests planning them and then executing them with our team that makes them come to life. There’s a lot of aspects to it, it is very challenging to produce events. There’s always a million hurdles to jump through so it is kind of fun I like the challenge that it is to promote and produce.
Q: What do you think of the venue, the Collection at Riverpark?
We do like that venue, it sets up nicely in a beautiful mall and there are all kinds of shops and restaurants so you can go eat after the event. The venue is beautiful, there is lots of good parking and this year we’re actually expanding the venue. It’s going to have a different look and feel from last year’s event.
Q: Your event supports charity. Why is that important to you?
This event benefits Food share and we’re really making a statement for our company that we really appreciate the current economic boom and we want to give back to our local community, so that’s pretty much what we do. So we benefit a charity, give money back and it’s just cool, gives you more of a chance to come out and enjoy a great summer’s afternoon and at the end of the day, we also help with hotel rooms, food and other local businesses so we can give to our local charities. It’s just an all-around good model and something we like to do.
Q: What about tickets for the Tequila and Tacos Festival?
Tickets will be sold at the door and you can also get your tickets at the www.tequilaandtacomusicfestival.com . The tequila sampling portion, that that is a limited amount of tickets, so we would recommend that they buy those tickets ahead of time. Also, kids 12 and under are free.
Q: Thanks, Vincenzo. Sounds like a fun weekend!
All ticket holders will have access to Food Vendors, Craft Beer and Margarita Booths, and Live Music. Food and tacos are not included unless you purchase Pa Premiere Two-Day Pass. Must be 21 years of age or older with a valid ID to purchase either the Premiere Two-Day Pass or Tequila Experience.
Participating Vendors include: Caretta De Oro Tequila; Tequila Patron; Tequila Los Tres Tonos; Dirty Tequila; Yolies Fresh Mexican Grill; Tacos Biris; Rubios; S Liquor; Food Share Food Bank; Peligroso Tequila; Oculto; American Vintage Beverage; Tequila Alquimia; 3 Crowns Imports; Casa San Matias Tequila; M Cigars; and Island Brewing Company.
The 3rd Annual Tequila & Taco Music Festival, taking place over two big days, Saturday, July 18 and Sunday, July 19, at ultra-modern shopping/dining mecca The Collection at RiverPark, 2751 Park View Court, in Oxnard. Hours are 11:00 a.m.-5:30 p.m. each day. Premiere 2-Day Passes: $60.; Saturday’s ‘Tequila Experience’: $40.; General Admission (both days): $10. Info: (805) 628-9588 or log onto http://tequilaandtacomusicfestival.com/oxnard/. Purchase tickets online here. Various hotels such as the Clocktower Inn in Ventura also have weekend festival packages available.
Note: No tequila poured after 3:30pm Saturday
