Beastie Boys’ Mix Master Mike headlines latest Fresno taco festival

The radio station 99.3 Now FM has been teasing a major event all week.

It followed up on the tease Thursday morning with the announcement of The Fresno Taco Fest.

The daylong music/food festival happens Oct. 21 at Woodward Park and features a lineup that includes Beastie Boys turntablist and DJ (there’s a difference) Mix Master Mike, along with pop-punk reggae band Ballyhoo, the Sublime tribute 40oz to Freedom, AC/DC tribute Noise Pollution and Bakersfield’s Mento Buru.

There will also be Chihuahua races and a beauty pageant (for the dogs, we assume), plus Lucha Libre wrestling and, of course, tacos.

You can’t deny the popularity of tacos right now. More than 20,000 people showed up at Chukchansi Park for Taco Truck Throwdown this month. They ate 50,000-plus tacos, not counting the 92 Joey Chestnut put down.

One wonders if Fresno has entered a state of (dare we say it?) taco overload. This taco festival joins the Central Valley Taco Festival, which happens annually at Eaton Plaza, and the Taco Truck Throw Down (two words), which happens in Hanford. Even the event’s tag line, “Tacos, Beer, Music,” seems a bit familiar. Side note: Another installment of TB&J happens Thursday night at Tioga-Sequoia.

Tickets for the Fresno Taco Fest are $20 until Sept. 20 and available at fresnotacofest.com.

This story was originally published August 17, 2017 at 2:07 PM with the headline "Beastie Boys’ Mix Master Mike headlines latest Fresno taco festival."