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ROYAL OAK — Taco Fest will return for the third year to Royal Oak July 4-7, featuring more than 50 taquerias, taco trucks and other eateries, as well as more than 100 musical and entertainment acts.
Jon Witz, event producer of Royal Oak Taco Fest, is also the event producer for other festivals that happen throughout the year, including Winter Fest and Arts, Beats & Eats, which is set to take place at the end of the summer.
Planning for multiple major events each year can get challenging, according to Witz, but he and his team are constantly working to ensure that each festival has its own identity.
“We are always trying to discover new musicians and not have the same bands or performances,” Witz said. “One thing we do at Taco Fest that is unique and different is some fun contests that you don’t see at other events, because this is a themed event.”
Those contests include a taco eating contest, a pet costume contest, and a two person showdown event in which groups of two will compete against six other duos to see who can make and eat six tacos the fastest.
Along with these three contests, the event will include entertainment such as lucha libre wrestling and street performances, according to a press release.
The appeal of Taco Fest also comes from the accessibility of these entertainment acts, according to Witz, who said that the activities within the event are free to attendees.
“At this event there is a ticket price where all of the family activities are free, so there is a value, and we have expanded the family programming,” Witz said. “At Arts, Beats & Eats we might charge for carnival rides or other things.”
Cousins Maine Lobster is one of the food trucks that will be at the event, serving a menu of lobster-themed dishes.
The truck began in 2012, when Sabin Lomac and Jim Tselikis wanted to create a way to bring their “local Maine family traditions to the West Coast masses,” according to cousinsmainelobster.com.
Since being on Shark Tank in 2014, the franchise grew, and now Cousins Maine Lobster has food trucks all over the country.
Hank Kdouh, owner of the Cousins Maine Lobster food truck, said that this is the second year his truck has been invited to the Taco Fest. He also said that his truck can be seen at multiple different events in the Royal Oak area.
The truck features dishes such as lobster grilled cheese, lobster tots and what Kdouh said is the fan favorite at the Taco Fest, lobster tacos and shrimp tacos.
“Shrimp tacos and lobster tacos are our best seller at the Taco Fest, just because I think people are in the spirit of buying tacos,” he said.
Kdouh said that because the event takes place on and around the Fourth of July, his truck creates a special red, white and blue cake for the Taco Fest event.
Serving in Royal Oak has been a positive experience for the Cousins Maine Lobster team, Kdouh said.
“Whenever we do events in Royal Oak, we have a lot of fun,” he said. “We have a lot of returning customers, so it is just a fun experience.”
The Taco Fest will also feature special activations run by JARS Cannabis. Witz said that these will be an addition for the 21-and-over crowd and follow his initiative to normalize the cannabis industry.
Much like Arts, Beats & Eats, the Taco Fest will include an area where people can buy and consume cannabis.
“We don’t mind featuring a very similar presentation, which is a discreetly located area for folks 21 and over to purchase and enjoy cannabis at the event,” Witz said.
Tickets will be available at the door for $12. The Taco Fest will be open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. July 4-6 and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. July 7.
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