Desert Magic

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A sunset gathering featuring chef-made plates, plant medicine experiences, live music, and a deep connection to the Sonoran Desert.

Tohono Chul | Gardens, Galleries, and Bistro

Desert Magic is a one-night-only celebration of the Sonoran Desert’s edible and medicinal plants through food, herbalism, music, and story.Join us Monday, August 25 after sundown at Tohono Chul Gardens for an evening of chef-prepared plates, plant medicine experiences, live music, and connection to the desert.What to Expect:You’ll stroll through the gardens and stop at stations where each chef serves a plate inspired by native desert ingredients like chiltepin, mesquite, prickly pear, native corn, squash, and much more. With nine chefs serving 2-3 ounces or more, you’ll enjoy a full dinner’s worth of food.Chefs + Dishes:<ul><li>Ryan Clark (Loews Ventana Canyon) – Brown butter assorted figs with agave, mesquite crumble, fig leaf, and Tucson honey gelato</li><li>Christian Padilla – Cured aloe vera leaf nigiri with pickled habanero salsa, Japanese peanuts with lime ash, and burnt tortilla ash sushi rice; matcha and hierba buena atole with coconut cream, citrus zest, ginger, and mint oil</li><li>David Marks (Tohono Chul Garden Bistro) – Pecan-smoked pork and local squash braised in prickly pear juice, with borracho tepary beans, roasted corn salsa, fermented Fresno sauce, and a mesquite flour tortilla</li><li>Pablo Valencia (Scratching The Plate) – Chuck steak basted in Whiskey Del Bac with fire-roasted sous vide apples and aloe cremeux</li><li>David Solorzano (Agustin Kitchen) – Mechudo bean soup with Pima corn chochoyotes, purslane, and wild spinach tossed in a bacanora-chiltepin vinaigrette</li><li>McKenzie O’Leary (Tanque Verde Ranch) – Mesquite flour French macaron with saguaro and prickly pear cactus fruit curd and a mesquite white chocolate ganache</li><li>Kelzi Bartholomaei and Chef R. Tucker - Smoked brisket slider brined in a koji/amazake mixture made with Dragoon Brewery Amber Ale, with alligator juniper sauerkraut, lacto-fermented Sonoran champagne mustard, and five-day fermented pickle chips</li><li>Tanner Fleming (The Coronet) – Wild Boar Birria Blue Corn Sope (nopal, pozole, pickled cholla bud, chapulines) // Tepary Bean Blue Corn Sope [Vegan] (nopal, pozole, pickled cholla bud)</li><li>Tyler Fenton (BATA) – White tepary bean hummus with squash seed tehina, summer squash, and a masa and White Sonora wheat sourdough cracker</li></ul>Your ticket also includes a botanical welcome cocktail, with additional drinks available for purchase.Alongside the food, wellness practitioners and herbalists will offer hands-on stations, workshops, and ceremonies using native Sonoran plants. Learn, taste, and make remedies while exploring the healing side of desert flora.Plant medicine experiences include:<ul><li>Cacao Ceremony with Soul Tribe</li><li>Somatic Healing with Tesa Mayurga</li><li>Massage from Brandi Garcia of Healing Spirit Soaks</li><li>Medicinal Herb Walks with John Slatterly</li><li>Crazy Facts About Sonoran Plants with Jim Koweek</li><li>Energetic Herbal Cleansing with Dr. Angela Wojtowicz</li><li>Desert Flower Essences with Mimi Kamp</li><li>Connecting with Plants with Mimi Kamp</li><li>Encounters with Yerba Mansa</li><li>Make Salves &amp; Tinctures with Sonoran Rosie</li><li>Make Creosote Sachets with Monsoon Mystics</li><li>Vortex Healing by Coach Shelly</li><li>Bath Salt Bar by Di Luna Candles</li><li>Geode Cracking with Aquamarine Daydream</li><li>Traditional Matcha Whisking &amp; Samples by Sakura Tea Circle of Tucson</li></ul>The evening also includes live music, sound healing, and guided somatic experiences to help you slow down, ground, and connect.Music and sound experiences:<ul><li>Sacred Songs from Música Nidito &amp; Vachu Adu</li><li>Ambient Tunes from Naim Amor</li><li>Healing Chants with Rachel Strong</li><li>Sound Healing with Sonic Journey</li></ul>Tickets are $44 and include all food, all workshops and experiences, and a welcome cocktail. Additional beverages and products will be available for purchase.Space is limited and we expect to sell out in advance.We hope you’ll join us for an evening of food, plants, music, and connection — a celebration of the wild magic of the Sonoran Desert.This is a rain-or-shine event. All ticket sales are final. No refunds, exchanges, or transfers will be issued for inclement weather or other circumstances beyond our control (force majeure).Desert Magic is a lead into the Good Food Forum on the following day at the El Conquistador Hotel where change makers in Arizona’s food economy come to connect, collaborate and drive real solutions. From producers and chefs to advocates and educators, this one-day event brings together voices from every corner of the region to build a more resilient, inclusive and accessible local food future. For Additional information visit: (<a href="https://www.goodfoodfinderaz.com/forum" title="https://www.goodfoodfinderaz.com/forum" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">https://www.goodfoodfinderaz.com/forum</a>)

Thank you to our friends and supporters at:<ul><li><a href="https://tohonochul.org" title="https://tohonochul.org" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Tohono Chul</a></li><li><a href="https://www.goodfoodfinderaz.com/" title="https://www.goodfoodfinderaz.com/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">good food finder</a></li></ul>

ArtArtwork: “Sonoran Hot Dog Barrel Cactus” by local artist <a href="https://createforthepeople.com/" title="https://createforthepeople.com/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Lauri Kaye</a>

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Desert Magic

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