City of Atascadero Postpones 6th Annual Tamale Festival

ATASCADERO – Due to the current COVID-19 restrictions, the City of Atascadero has decided to reschedule the 6th Annual Tamale Festival initially scheduled for Jan. 15-16, 2021, now postponed to Saturday, May 8, 2021, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

In years past, the City is usually preparing for the annual Festival with countywide outreach to local restaurants, caterers, and non-profit organizations during this time. In addition, the City also attends the famous International Tamale Festival held in Indio, California, in early December to gain new ideas and ways to grow Atascadero’s signature event. With COVID-19, event planning throughout 2020 has changed, and as we head into 2021 with vaccines on the horizon, the City is hopeful that the postponement to May will allow enough time to be on the road to recovery.

The event earlier this year had grown to a two-day event, but as we come out of the pandemic, it has been scaled back to a one-day event with the likelihood to grow it again in future years to come. As the City works to bring this event back, they will expand the timeframe to be a little longer for attendees to enjoy the event. The City hopes to bring back as much of the Tamale Festival as the community has grown to enjoy with the variety of vendors, contests, dancing horses, live music and entertainment, all that will be determined as we get closer to May.

If you are interested in being a vendor, updated applications will be made available the week of Jan. 11, 2021. For all event information, visit VisitAtascadero.com/TamaleFestival.