NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — It's promised to be a big time with a lot of good food and good drinks. But the Taco and Margarita Festival coming to town this weekend may not be what it's cracked up to be.
NewsChannel 5 Investigates did some digging and found what you probably want to know before you buy tickets.
Photos of yummy looking tacos are all over the Facebook page promoting the Nashville Taco and Margarita Festival happening Saturday at Nissan Stadium.
But, a quick online search shows a lot of unhappy people who've been to similar festivals held around the country.
A woman in Iowa warned in her Facebook post, "Do not waste your time" after she went to the festival last year in Des Moines,.
And there were similar complaints about the Taco and Margarita Festival in Austin, Texas, with attendees saying "Never again" and "Unacceptable" and "This was the most bs waste of money," complaining there were "Huge lines for a drink and mediocre tacos at best."
And the North Dakota Attorney General even opened an investigation after getting complaints following the festival in Fargo. One woman sent her son as a birthday present, but complained, "This was not as advertised. They received one margarita that was bad and did not get any food as they ran out. And there were no bands playing as advertised."
And just last weekend, after the San Jose Taco and Margarita Fest out in California, someone posted on the event's page that the event "ran out of tacos and margaritas at 3pm. Not to mention they were white wash tacos at $5 a piece."
United Festival Productions is behind all of these events across the country.
And now, it's proclaiming that The World's Largest Taco Festival is coming to Nashville with tacos and margaritas, plus live wrestling and music.
Admission is $20, but that only gets you in the gate. It's $74 for VIP general admission which includes a tshirt and two margaritas. But it does not appear that you get any tacos with that. Those, it seems, you have to pay extra for.
But promoters insist they will be "chef-crafted signature tacos" and just announced Saturday's menu which features zesty sounding food and beverages. But we've discovered all of the tacos and margaritas will be made and provided by Nissan Stadium's in-house concession company.
The Titans and Nissan Stadium are putting on the event in conjunction with United Festival Productions.
Its CEO Adam Dobres has come under fire in the past after other food and beverage festivals he's put on across the country have garnered many of the same complaints including a series of Bar Crawls that prompted the Better Business Bureau to give Dobres' company an F rating.
Dobres and the Titans both backed out of interviews with us, but the Titans said in a statement: “After discussing the Taco & Margaritas Festival with our peers at other NFL teams and stadiums across the country, we received positive feedback about the experience, especially when bringing concessions in-house. We are working closely with the United Festival Productions team to ensure it will be an outstanding event for fans and guests.”
The event is scheduled to run from noon until six on Saturday. Tickets, we're told, will be available at the gate.
