Pomegranate Festival

Saturday September 18, 8:00am-12:00pm

FREE with our suggested $5 entry donation at the gate.

Please join us for one of Arizona's most colorful festivals. This annual Arizona-wide festival is held in different parts of the state each year, and this year is Mission Garden's turn! Here are some of the things you can expect to see at the festival.

Food Demos and Tastings This event will draw pomegranate growers and experts from around the state. There will be a series of tables with COVID-safe samples of different kinds of pomegranates, including different versions of our heritage white pomegranates and of course different versions of red ones. Rate them according to which you like best! There will be other food demonstrations by diverse organizations and businesses such as the Ajo CSA, Iskashitaa, Gallery of Food, Garden Kitchen, and other local experts, and of course our own experts here at Mission Garden.

Share your Stories There will be opportunities to share your own stories and experiences with pomegranates, whether in Tucson or anywhere else in the world they grow (many places). Please come and contribute to our knowledge of the diversity of cultural experiences around pomegranates.

Activities for Kids Bring kids for special coloring book pages, pomegranate hopscotch, and other activities including our permanent Bookwork Path in the garden (20 locations with books and other activities for kids). Pose in the pomegranate photo booth!

Speakers and Information Tables There will be speakers from the University of Arizona and other institutions around the state on diverse topics such as the origins of pomegranates and the many uses to which they are put in many worldwide settings. Invited speakers include Dr. Imad Rasheed, herbalist from University of Baghdad, Gary Nabhan, ethnobotanist and author of many books, Sterling Johnson of the Ajo CSA, and Jesus Garcia of the Mission Garden Board of Directors. Organizations with information tables will include Tumacacori National Historical Park, which has its own heritage orchard.

Pomegranate Trees You can see over 40 pomegranate trees growing at Mission Garden! Plus, the Mission Garden Shop will be open and will be featuring both pomegranate fruit and pomegranate trees for sale. We are inviting some other organizations to sell pomegranate trees as well.

Art Show There will be an exhibit of the works of plein air artists who have been painting in the garden since the spring. Some of them include pomegranate trees, flowers and fruit.

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Want to learn more about the Heritage Fruit at Mission Garden?
In this short video, Friends of Tucson’s Birthplace Board Member Fe Tom provides us with some cultural context and benefits of Loquat fruit trees.