Jacksonville’s Taco and Tequila Festival
The Entrance to Jacksonville’s Taco and Tequila Festival
My husband and I recently relocated to Jacksonville and have been trying to branch out and attend local events. I saw an advertisement on Facebook for Jacksonville’s Taco and Tequila Festival presented by 904 Happy Hour. After a bit of research, we decided to purchase our tickets and give it a try.
Overall, we enjoyed ourselves and are looking forward to going back next year. With any event, there are highlights and suggestions, so I wanted to share some of our favorite experiences, along with what we would do differently for future events.
Ticket Options
This festival has three tiers for tickets: General Admission, Grand Sampling Experience, and Golden Agave Club. We purchased our tickets about a month before the event and noticed the prices increased closer to the event. A month prior to the event, tickets cost between $35-295 per person, depending on the tier selected. Prices increased between $5-$15 about three weeks away from the event, so although it is not a huge price difference, it does pay to purchase early. Additionally, prices at the gate vary from an additional $15-$150 at the gate, so it is highly encouraged to purchase your tickets online.
General Admission can be purchased for one or both days of the event. It includes access to the event and live entertainment.
My husband and I purchased the Grand Sampling Experience Tickets, which included General Admission for two days, along with a reserved two-and-a-half-hour window with tequila samples and snacks. There additionally is an air-conditioned lounge for those to access during their sampling window.
The third ticket option is the Golden Agave Club. Like General Admission, this can be purchased for one or both days. This includes all-day access to the Grand Sampling Experience, general admission access, and a VIP lounge located next to the main stage. This lounge is air-conditioned, has a private bar, complimentary beverages, and a viewing deck, allowing for prime viewing of the concert.
The ticket options come with a variety of perks, although the price point can be considered high. I do not think you can go wrong with any of the ticket tiers, it really just depends on what you want to get out of the festival, which I will explain later on in this blog post.
Day One of the Festival (Saturday)
Our Grand Sampling reservation was for Sunday, but since the ticket included two-day General Admission, we decided to briefly stop by and see what the festival was about.
We arrived right around noon when the festival first opened. Parking was $10 and well-organized, and it was located across the street from the event (TIAA Parking Lot J, which was notated on the tickets).
There was plenty of staff working and keeping the lines moving quickly. Color-coded wristbands were administered depending on the type of ticket that was purchased, and we were also given an additional paper wristband to signal that we were over 21. (As someone who is almost 30 and still looks 16, this was convenient for me so I didn’t have to keep pulling my ID out of my wallet.)
We received coupons for a complimentary welcome drink when we picked up our wristbands, so after going through the gate, we headed toward the drink station. The complimentary welcome drink is a choice between a Michelob Ultra or a margarita. The first day we chose the margarita, and it honestly was full of simple syrup. I am not a fan of sweet drinks and did not like it, but my expectations were also low since it was a free drink.
Complimentary Welcome Margarita
We then proceeded to walk around the festival, look at the local vendors (there were food trucks, merchandise vendors, and Jacksonville small businesses), and then grab some food.
I ordered vegetarian tacos from El Chamo Criollo and they were amazing! They were completely filled with black beans and vegetables, and they were covered in their secret “chamo” sauce, which tasted similar to a cilantro ranch. My husband ordered fish tacos which he also greatly enjoyed.
Vegeterian Tacos from El Chamo Criollo
There was a smaller stage in the back of the festival that was fully shaded, so we grabbed one more drink and listened to the live music. There were a few margarita stations scattered throughout the festival that had the same menu. I ordered the Duval Rita, which had house ingredients. It was less sugary than the first margarita, but it was still not my favorite.
In total, we spent about three hours at the event on day one.
Day Two of the Festival (Sunday)
Since we had our tasting reservations, we took a Lyft on day two. Surprisingly, there was no designated ride share drop off for this event, and we ended up getting dropped off in the parking lot. Other ride share cars stopped in the middle of the street blocking traffic, which was a bit chaotic.
Our tasting reservations were from 12:30-3:00pm, so we headed straight for the tasting area upon entering the festival. I really liked the tasting area because it was not crowded (if a vendor had a line, the longest line I saw was three groups). When our wristbands were administered, we were given a tasting glass to use throughout the experience. Some stands had tequila flights, and some had mixed drinks.
Our first stop was Dano’s, which had tequila flights. I liked how smooth their tequilas were, and they even had a pineapple jalapeño infused tequila, which was my favorite.
Next we went to The Lost Explorer and tried their mezcal flight. Each of the three samples were unique from one another, and it was really difficult to pick a favorite. If you are a fan of smokey flavors, I highly recommend trying their mezcal.
We then sampled Ghost Tequila, which was offered as a mixed drink. The pink lemonade and tajin balanced out the spiciness of the tequila, which I greatly enjoyed.
Ghost Tequila with pink lemonade and tajin, served in the souvenir grand sampling glass
Moe’s was offering bowls of chips and salsa, and another station was offering chocolate chip oatmeal cookies, which we grabbed and took to the lounge. It was a great break between sampling- the lounge had comfy chairs, water bottles, and a full bar for those who wanted to hang out there instead of doing the tasting experience.
After having a snack and some water, we sampled 400 Conejos Mezcal. I didn’t find it to be as smooth as The Lost Explorer, but it was still a solid mezcal.
The last sample of the experience was an espresso martini from Post Meridiem. This is an Atlanta-based company with a wide-variety of drink options. I absolutely loved the taste of their espresso martini- I typically find pre-made drinks to be over sugary, but this company prides themselves on real, non-artificial ingredients.
Before exiting the sampling area, we grabbed a can of CoAqua Coconut Water, which I was surprised to see was made in Ponte Vedra Beach. It was refreshing and gave me those much-needed electrolytes after sampling tequila on a hot day.
We then headed to the main stage area and grabbed lunch. My husband ordered steak tacos from Brochachos and we also split an order of tater tots from The Tot Spot (I was still full from the snacks that we ate in the tasting area, but there were ample food truck options to choose from).
Steak tacos from Brochachos Fusion Eats food truck
We listened to the live music for a bit after eating, and then we decided to split one final margarita before calling the Lyft. We ordered the top shelf margarita from the same stand as Saturday, and it was much better than the other margaritas we had during the festival. You know how the old saying goes- you get what you pay for!
We spent around six hours at the festival on Sunday. It went on until 11:00pm, and although we wished we stayed longer to enjoy more of the live bands, it was extremely humid and we were ready to go home and have AC again. Had our reservations not been at 12:30, we would have arrived around 5:00pm and stayed until close.
As I mentioned earlier, there was no designated ride share area, which meant we had to power walk to the baseball field to grab our Lyft. Our driver was extremely kind and I do not blame the driver for not feeling comfortable picking us up in a heavily trafficked parking area. However, I think ride share should be more encouraged in the future, especially for an event with “tequila” in its title.
Recommendations for Next Year
Over all, I felt like the event was appropriately priced for what you pay for. If your main focus is the live music, the General Admission ticket is sufficient. If you want the most bang for your buck, I highly recommend the Grand Sampling tickets. If you have the ability to splurge on the Golden Agave Club, I also think it would be worth the cost. Although those tickets are a bit pricey, drinks are included and it would be more comfortable staying at the event for the full day since lounge access is included.
If you attended Taco and Tequila Fest this year, I would love to hear your thoughts. Additionally, if you will be attending future festivals in Jacksonville and need a branding or event photographer, you can fill out the contact form on my website to start the conversation.