SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – If you love tacos and salsa, then Taco Wars at the Shreveport Auditorium is the place to be this weekend.
The event is returning with six more taquerias, more drinks and extra space this year. Sixteen taquerias will compete for this year’s Best Taco and Best Salsa prizes. On April 29, from noon until 8:00 p.m., guests can use paper tickets to purchase tacos, snacks, water, soda, adult drinks and merchandise. The event is free to attend and includes children’s activities and live music performances highlighting authentic Mexican music.
“It’s something that we’re incredibly excited about bringing to our community because the celebration of everyone in the community has always been important to the Prize Foundation,” Gregory Kallenberg, Executive Director of the Louisiana Prize Foundation and Taco Wars Founder said. “But, when you have a culture that is as vibrant and delicious and amazing Latino and Hispanic culture, we feel very honored to put on Taco Wars because it’s a celebration of them and everything that culture and community brings to our community.”
This year’s event will happen rain or shine! Prize Fest officials say that the taquerias, drink stands and Casa de Tequila will remain outside, but they’ve rented the inside of the Municipal Auditorium for Taco Wars guests to enjoy their food and drinks.
Louisiana Film Prize has a full list of all the competing taquerias online. Taco Wars guests purchase each ticket for $1, then turn those tickets in to the participating vendors, who set prices for their own items. Guests can buy tickets using cash or cards.
When visitors purchase their paper tickets, they receive a Best Salsa token to vote for their favorite. Each booth will have free chips and salsa for guests to taste. If you love it, drop your token in the voting box of your favorite taqueria. The vendor with the best salsa will win the Golden Molcajete Award a $500 cash prize.
Each taqueria must submit a taco from its menu for consideration in the Best Taco competition. A group of guests from across the south will judge the entries to decide who takes the prize home. To prevent favoritism, none of the judges are from the Shreveport area. The winner of the Golden Taco Award will take home a $1,000 cash prize. The judges will announce the winners of both contests at 7:30 p.m.
Kallenberg says last year they expected about 5,000 people but a surprising 8,000 people attended the event. “It turns out that people like tacos, who knew?” he quipped.
“This year we’ve expanded from 10 taquerias to 16 taquerias; that’s a 60% increase in the number of taquerias that we have. We have two Casa de Tequilas. We are ready for the big crowds and we are excited to be having everyone come down to Taco Wars 2023.”
In 2022, El Novillo Carniceria beat out the competition for the best taco, and Ramirez Mexican Restaurant held onto its title for best salsa. Ninety cents spent on each taco goes back to the taqueria. “Because of the tacos that you bought, we could give back 60,000 dollars to the 10 taquerias that were here last year.” He expects that number to be even higher with the new competitors participating.
When asked if the new taquerias will give the champions a run for their money, Kallenberg answered, “We’ve collected the best, brightest and the most delicious taquerias anywhere on the planet. So everyone who is coming down who will be serving tacos to the public, everyone who will be judged by these celebrity judges that we’re bringing in, has a shot of winning the Golden Taco.”
Want even more fun? Taco Wars also offers a VIP Experience package. VIP guests enter the exclusive covered cabana seating area with fans and bathrooms. The package includes food demonstrations, tequila tastings, and other fun activities. Each VIP member receives ten Golden Taco Tickets, good for one taco each. You can see all of the VIP guest perks, and purchase passes here.
