Cinco de Mayo falls on a Monday this year, which means the weekend before it is fair game for the kind of day-drinking that the holiday was practically invented to justify. Dallas has its answer ready. The Dallas Margarita Festival lands at The Village Dallas on Saturday, May 2, and the premise is as simple as it is dangerous: ten margarita pours, one vote, one winner.
The setup is a competition. Some of Dallas’s top bars and restaurants each submit their best margarita, and the crowd decides who takes home the title and the thousand-dollar prize. Your ticket gets you ten samples, each poured at 3.5 ounces — the largest pour the law allows at a tasting event — served over ice. Classic lime, smoky mezcal, spicy jalapeño, whatever the competing spots decide to throw at the judging panel of 2,500 people who paid good money to be here. At the end of the day, one spot walks away with bragging rights and a check. The rest go back to their bars and rethink their recipes.
Beyond the tasting lineup, a live DJ keeps things moving, food vendors are set up throughout the grounds, and a beer garden is there for the moments between pours when you need something that is not a margarita. There is also a giveaway — a trip to Mexico, which is appropriate — and a portion of the proceeds goes to children’s charities, which makes the whole afternoon feel slightly more virtuous than it actually is.
VIP entry starts at noon. General admission opens at 3 p.m. The event runs until 6. If you are going VIP, get there at noon — the difference between early and late arrival at a ten-pour tasting event is noticeable by about the fourth sample. The Village Dallas is at 5605 Village Glen Drive, which has parking and is easy to get to from anywhere inside the loop.
Cinco de Mayo is a Monday. The margaritas are Saturday. Plan accordingly. Tickets and full details at the link below.
