8-11am | Free | All Ages
Mission Garden

Be part of history and the future! Join us at Mission Garden to plant agave in the traditional Hohokam style, inspired by ancient plantings on Tumamoc Hill. These agave plants will provide food for bat pollinators and may even become part of a future festival’s roasting pit.

No experience is needed, and families are encouraged to join! We’ll provide all tools and gloves—just bring your enthusiasm, long pants, and a hat for sun protection.

4-5:30pm | Free | All Ages
Tucson Botanical Garden

Celebrate Wendy Hodgson, this year’s Howard Scott Gentry Award recipient, with an engaging talk on the deep connections between agave, people, and place in the Sonoran Desert.

The evening weaves together history and science while looking ahead to the future of agave care and conservation.

Tequila & Mariachi Tasting

6:00–7:00 PM | Ticketed | 21+
Tap & Bottle North

An intimate evening of tequila, live mariachi, and guided storytelling featuring La Gritona, with cocktails and neat pours woven between songs that explore the cultural connection between music and agave.

7:30–9:30 PM | Free | 21+
Tap & Bottle North

Tequila-themed trivia, prizes, and mariachi energy continue the night, with featured pours and cocktail specials flowing throughout the weekend.

7:00 PM | 21+
Tap & Bottle

At Tap & Bottle, the vibe is easy and the shelves are deep, which makes it the perfect place to slow down and actually taste. Join us for a guided exploration of La Gritona, a subtle reposado distilled in Valle de Guadalupe, Jalisco by Melly Barajas and her women-led team.

7:00 PM | 21+
Crisol

Crisol is one of Tucson’s true agave homes, warm, intimate, and built for curious drinkers. Taste through Tequila Ocho, known for single-estate expressions that highlight terroir, alongside Mezcal Vago, made by a family distilling mezcal for generations, with a reputation for both tradition and experimentation.

6:00 PM | 21+
Tough Luck Club

Downstairs at Tough Luck Club, cocktails come first and the energy is the point. Get hands-on with a guided cocktail class featuring Passport Destilados, a producer-led spirits platform built around craft, transparency, and the people behind the bottles.

6:00 PM | 21+
Agave House

Agave House brings the party, the flavors, and the mezcal-forward pour list. Join us for a lively cocktail class featuring Mezcal Unión, crafted in Oaxaca and designed for cocktails that still respect the spirit.

Friday, April 10, 2026 at 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM | $55 plus taxes & fees

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Experience an unforgettable evening celebrating mezcal, bacanora, agave-infused foods, and music. Enjoy heritage paired with craft cocktails from pop-up bars featuring leading regional brands. Chefs and mezcaleros come together to share the flavors, stories, and spirit of the desert.

Friday, April 10, 2026 at 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM | Free | All Ages | Jácome Plaza

Celebrate the sights, sounds, and tastes of the Sonoran Desert at this bi-national event uniting Tucson and the State of Sonora. Enjoy live music, artisan vendors, and tastings of Sonoran spirits like bacanora and sotol paired with regional foods. Explore the shared heritage and creativity that connect our desert communities across the border.

10 AM-1 PM | Free | All Ages

Discover agave’s role in regenerative agriculture, from soil health and water conservation to restoration and resilience in drylands. This session highlights agave as a climate-adaptive crop with ecological and cultural value in land and spirits.

We also celebrate through light bites of heritage foods, connecting regenerative practice to tangible, place-based experience.

12:30 PM-2:30 PM | Free | All Ages

From mountain distilleries to cross-border markets, this conversation examines how bacanora grows beyond its origins while staying rooted in place.

3 PM-5 PM | Free | All Ages
Whistle Stop Depot

A cinematic trip to Jalisco, Raicilla Smugglers follows an outlaw spirit across two timelines, from today’s small-batch mountain makers to the secret routes that once kept raicilla alive during prohibition.

5:00 PM–7:00 PM | Pricing TBD | 21+
Crisol

New in 2026, this intimate tasting is for anyone who wants the deep cuts without the intimidation, bringing small-scale agave producers and the stories behind their work into one room for rare pours, real conversation, and the chance to purchase bottles directly from the producers, with selections from Rezpiral (fair trade, single-batch), Lamata (formerly Amormata, rooted in remote traditional mezcales), and Chacolo (a legendary Jalisco distillate tied to agave biodiversity and seed-grown cultivation).

8:00 am | All Ages | FREE

Explore the slopes of Tumamoc Hill on a guided hike, enjoying stunning Sonoran Desert views while discovering how agave has played a vital role in the region’s past and present.

This tour offers insights into the ecology, cultural history, and desert adaptations that have shaped this unique landscape.

6:00 PM | 21+
Batch

Batch is a downtown classic for whiskey and cocktails, and for festival week it turns its attention to agave. Taste Origen Raíz, handcrafted using wild-harvested agave and traditional methods, alongside Rufina, an agave spirits line tied to a Sierra Sur palenque in Oaxaca. Expect a guided, story-forward tasting with Abel leading the room.

6:00 PM | 21+
Tough Luck Club

A tequila cocktail class that leans into craft without losing the fun. Don Fulano is made with mature agave, proprietary yeast, and volcanic spring water in an additive-free, low-intervention process. Come learn technique, build a few drinks, and leave with new favorites.

5:00 PM | 21+
Nana’s Kitchen

Sonora in a glass. Join us at Nana’s Kitchen for a guided tasting of Cola Blanca Bacanora, a crystalline agave distillate rooted in the Sonoran mountains, with a bold smoky profile and bright desert character.

7:00 PM | 21+
Unicorn Zebra

Unicorn Zebra is equal parts downtown hideaway and craft cocktail lounge, a perfect setting for a mezcal night. Taste Del Maguey Single Village Mezcal and follow the thread back to place, tradition, and the hands that make each bottle an expression of its village.

Saturday, April 11, 2026 at 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM | $65 plus taxes & fees

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Experience Mexico’s premier craft spirits tasting, featuring mezcal, bacanora, rum, and more. Meet producers, explore regional flavors, and celebrate the stories that connect people, place, and tradition. Presented by the Agave Heritage Festival in partnership with Mezcalistas.

3 PM-5 PM | Free | All Ages

Embrace how agave spirits are shaped by desert landscapes and the choices people make along the way. This session offers an accessible look at sustainable production through stories of land, craft, and the living desert.

9 AM-12 PM | Free | All Ages
Whistle Stop Depot

Brings together farmers, growers, and practitioners to explore agave as an agricultural crop rooted in care, culture, and drylands practice.

Through conversation and practical insight, this session looks at what it means to tend agave responsibly across farms, landscapes, and communities.

12:30 PM-2:30 PM | Free | All Ages
The Screening Room

In partnership with Tucson City of Gastronomy, join us for a screening of Las Hijas del Maguey (Daughters of Maguey), a documentary spotlighting the Mujeres del Mezcal y Maguey de México, followed by a panel Q&A on women-led leadership, rural livelihoods, and environmental stewardship in agave.

12:00–1:00 PM (Spanish)
2:00–3:00 PM (English)
Ticketed | 21+
Westbound — MSA Annex

Westbound is open-air, sunny, and built for a daytime sip, so join us for a small-batch guided tasting of Agua del Sol, thoughtfully approachable agave spirits representing producers across Oaxaca, then linger in the MSA Annex courtyard between events with live mariachi and two seatings that keep the energy moving.

7:00 PM | 21+
Sonoran House Speakeasy

Tucked behind Sonoran House in Sam Hughes, this speakeasy setting brings a little extra magic to your festival weekend. Join a cocktail class featuring Mezcal Vago, known for multi-generational production and expressive batches. Learn the moves, then put them to work.

5:00 PM | 21+
Crisol

A rare chance to go deep on desert distillation. Sotoleros sources microbatch sotol and lechuguilla distillates, with releases that are often intensely limited. This private tasting is for anyone ready to expand their map beyond agave.

5:00 PM | 21+
Borderlands at Sam Hughes

Banhez takes the spotlight at Borderlands Sam Hughes Place with a guided tasting of this cooperative-made mezcal, featuring small-batch pours that reflect the Oaxacan families behind the bottle and a relaxed, festival-friendly space to ask questions and taste with intention.

Sunday, April 12, 2026 at 11:00 AM | $85 excluding taxes & fees

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Close out the festival with a joyful celebration of desert flavors and community. The Agave Heritage Brunch brings together Tucson’s top chefs, mixologists, and mezcaleros for an inspired tasting experience that highlights regional ingredients, seasonal dishes, and agave spirits. Raise a glass to the people, plants, and traditions that sustain life in the Sonoran Desert.

April 12-15, 2026 (3 nights / 4 days)

Reserve your spot today!

Explore Sonora’s Bacanora Route on a four-day journey visiting traditional vinatas, meeting local producers, and tasting bacanora alongside regional cuisine. The tour travels from Nogales to Hermosillo, with immersive stops in Bacanora and Sahuaripa that highlight the cultural and ecological roots of this iconic spirit.

11 AM-2 PM | All Ages

Join us at Loews Ventana Canyon to celebrate the Sonoran desert with agave-infused and bacanora, live blues music, and agave-forward flavors throughout!

8 AM-11 AM | All Ages

Native plant and seed sale with Borderlands Restoration Network at Exo + Crisol Coffee, supporting ecological restoration across the Arizona Sky Islands.

Time TBD | Free

Join naturalist Robert Villa for a relaxed sunset hike created for bartenders, chefs, and spirits professionals. Step into the Sonoran Desert to experience agave beyond the bar and discover how the landscapes, plants, and stories of this region continue to shape its most iconic spirits.