The First Annual NJ Taco Festival Set for Saturday, Sept 12

Come one, come all, it’s time to celebrate what makes New Jersey a one-of-a-kind State: the people, the food, the drinks, and of course some wildly fun activities! For one day only, bring your New Jersey pride to the Sussex County Fair Grounds for the 1st Annual NJ Taco Festival, which takes place on Saturday, September 12, 2015. Presented by New Jersey’s own Heartbreaking Dawns hot sauce and New York’s High River Sauces, the 1st Annual NJ Taco Festival brings together 40 of the best New Jersey artisanal taco proprietors; the largest collection of taco-makers ever assembled for a single event. All tacos cost $2 each, and vendors will compete for the “Best Tacos in New Jersey” award voted on by an esteemed panel of judges. For more information, please visit: njtacofestival.com

New Jersey’s hottest new festival will spotlight the mighty taco in its various tortilla wrapped fashions. Whether you prefer yours with a hard or soft shell filled with chicken, steak, fish or other imaginative ingredients, the 1st Annual NJ Taco Festival will be one unforgettable event not-to-be-missed. Taco varieties include Mexican, Korean, Italian, Irish, BBQ and more.

Do you love tacos more than anyone you know? Then, come on down to select Moe’s Southwest Grill and enter the preliminary rounds for a chance to advance to the Taco Eating Challenge at the 1st Annual NJ Taco Festival. The top two winners from each location will compete at the festival; each contestant will have 10 minutes to consume as many tacos as they can eat. The winner will be crowned “NJ Taco King”!

Sponsored by Petco, the Chihuahua Beauty Contest brings out New Jersey’s finest furry friends for a chance of bragging rights for the winner of the “Best In Show” contest. Judges will vote on costume originality, spiciness of the dogs’ personalities, enthusiasm of the owner, and overall taco spirit. Once the winner has been crowned, all contestants will parade throughout the fairgrounds for everyone to see the Garden State’s most adorable Chihuahua.

Once you’d had your fix watching the live Lucha Wrestling, head on over to the “New Jersey Margarita Mix-Down Championship” featuring the region’s best bartenders. The 2015 New Jersey Taco Fest Awards will honor the Top 3 proprietors as they vie to win “Best Tacos in New Jersey” in the following categories: Best Beef Taco, Best Chicken Taco, Best Pork Taco, and Best Seafood Taco. Additionally, one honorary award will be cited for the most Tastefully Unique Taco. The judging panel features a team of chef personalities, media, food writers, editors, and enthusiasts.

The 1st Annual NJ Taco Festival has cherry-picked the very best vendors, including Carlito’s Taco Wagon, Cold Stone Creamery, Damn Good Chicken, Empanada Guy, Giuseppe’s BBQ, Heartbreaking Dawns, High River Sauces, HotSauce4Good, Jersey Barnfire, Juan Grande, Kath’s Catering, Kona Ice, Matador Mexican Deli, Ma Pa’s Tex-Mex BBQ, MiniTacoShells.com, Mexi-Flip Taco Truck, Moe Mountain, Taberlaine Farm, The Guac Spot, Villalobos, Voodoo Chile, Vera Cruz, Whitehouse Sauces, and many more!

A portion of the proceeds from the 1st Annual NJ Taco Festival will be directly donated to Fighting Children’s Cancer Foundation.

Ticket Information:
General Admission to the NJ Taco Festival is only $10 (day of tickets are $15). $40 tickets for the Taco & Hot Special includes 2 bottles of hot sauce, 5 taco tickets, and 2 drink tickets (advance sale only via the Official Website). The El Gato Gordo VIP tickets ($100, available only via Official Website) include access to a private VIP lounge, unlimited sampling from liquor sponsors, craft beer, hard ciders, and specialty food vendors with full access to the NJ Taco Festival, access to special events, and VIP Goody Bag.

About Steve Seabury & High River Sauces
Steve Seabury is a music industry veteran, food junkie and cookbook author for Simon & Schuster (Mosh Potatoes) which he has raised and donated thousands of dollars to the Meals on Wheels charity. His passion for food and music has led to the formation of his multi-award-winning hot sauce company called High River Sauces. He is also a co-producer of the New York City Hot Sauce Expo, CA Hot Sauce Expo, Director of Marketing for eOne Entertainment and organizes a touring music festival called The Metal Alliance.

About Heartbreaking Dawns
Heartbreaking Dawns is the Tri-State Area’s premier producer of all-natural artisan sauces and spice blends. The company is independently owned and operated by husband and wife team Chef Johnny and Nicole McLaughlin. The formation of the company began by transforming items from their garden into delicious sauces, putting those sauces into bottles, and adding eye-catching labels. The company invaded living rooms all over the country with Chef Johnny’s appearance on Food Network’s hit show “Chopped,” “Cutthroat Kitchen” and CNBC’s “Crowd Rules.”