New event hosted by the City of Atascadero

–The City of Atascadero will host the first ever Tamale Festival on Saturday, Jan. 23 from 12 – 4 p.m. Due to the weather, the city is changing the event location to the Pavilion on the Lake at 9315 Pismo Ave., Atascadero. It had been previously set to be held at the sunken gardens in downtown Atascadero.

The Pavilion on the Lake located next to the Charles Paddock Zoo off of Morro Road and Hwy 41.

This new event will feature homemade tamales from a variety of vendors, along with a tamale contest for ”Most Popular Tamale” and “Judges Favorite Tamale.”

The Atascadero City Council will kick off the judging at 12:30 to select their favorite tamale. The “Judges Favorite Tamale” along with the people’s choice for the “Most Popular Tamale” will be announced at 3:30 p.m.

Entertainment will include dancing and a Mariachi band, together with bounce houses, face painting, balloon animals and plenty of activities for kids. Over twenty different vendors will be featured, ranging from arts and crafts to a wide variety of other food types.

Tamale chefs from across the county will feature gourmet to spicy tamales, and some will be giving tamale making demonstrations.

Tickets for a “Festival Deal” will be sold at the rate of $10 for 4 tamales. In addition, the first 100 people to purchase “Festival Deal” tickets will receive one extra tamale at no additional cost.

“Festival Deal” tickets go on sale beginning Friday, Jan. 15 at the Colony Park Community Center and tickets will be available at the event while supplies last. The Colony Park Community Center is located at 5599 Traffic Way in Atascadero and is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.