NOVI, Mich. (WXYZ) — If you love tacos, Novi is the place to be this weekend. The three-day Novi Taco Fest kicked off Friday at Twelve Mile Crossing at Fountain Walk. That’s across from Twelve Oaks Mall.
Organizers said the festival will include 35 taco trucks, other food vendors and retailers among the 25,000 expected attendees.
There are contests throughout the festival, such as taco eating contests, pepper eating contests, and cute dog contests.
Charles Prater of Highland won a taco eating contest Friday night. He said it was a piece of cake.
“Someone said to me, ‘Hey, there’s a taco eating contest. I know you love tacos. Do you want to join?’ I said, ‘Yeah, I know I can eat tacos faster than anyone else here.'”
Chiquita Reed brought her son and said she left the festival and came back to eat more African-Caribbean food.
“Fountain Walk is really where I hang out. So I love coming here. All the festivals, the barbecue festival they had a few months ago. I was here.” she said.
David Junker, who won the pepper eating contest, had a strategy. For him, it was child’s play.
“Eat fast and swallow as fast as you can” he advised.
Karyn Stetz is executive director of the Art As Healing Foundation, which organizes the festival.
She said it started as an art fair three years ago and quickly evolved to become an annual event that people look forward to.
“The mall is very happy with the event and is happy to promote it. So it is very helpful for everyone here in the western Detroit metropolitan area,” explained Stetz.
She said they would begin planning for Taco Fest 2025 in January.
