Indio Tamale Festival

I joined a gaggle of gay friends on Sunday for the 30th annual Indio Tamale Festival.

There were tamale stands for everyone, including vegans and foodies into local exotica.

This was the first time the event had moved from the confines of old downtown Indio to a huge park nearby, which allowed for the Guinness-certified World's Largest Bounce House for the kids.

It was fun being a minority as a gringo in what was a predominantly Mexican-American family crowd.

In front of one set of tamale booths, the gentleman above was holding the 1st Place Traditional Tamale Award from the festival...

...and when I asked how he'd done this year, he brought out the first place award for 2022.

I was wary of the event being crowded and claustrophobic...

...but the expansive park had plenty of room...

...even for demonstrations of souped-up low-riders.

The only problem was the cacophony of three different stages blasting live bands and/or DJ sets in addition to various booths adding to the sonic overload. Our hosts, Barry and Grant above, could not take it for long...

...so we left early, but not before I went on a twirly amusement park ride that almost made me pass out. It was lots of fun.