Sixth Ave street fest gets big boost. Another fun food party heads to Hilltop

July is a busy month for big Tacoma events. Last weekend, the city celebrated Pride, residents north and south of Sixth Avenue shared their yards with many musicians for the fourth annual Porchfest, and Airport Tavern’s Reggae on the Way spilled into South Tacoma Way.

This weekend, gear up for two more block parties with food, drink, music, dance, craft booths and more in Hilltop and along Sixth Avenue. Both are family-friendly and free to enter.

SAVORFEST PNW 2025

▪ July 20, noon to 5 p.m., instagram.com/savorfestpnw

▪ Mi Centro, 1208 S. 10th St., Tacoma

SavorFest PNW, which showcases the Northwest’s cultural diversity in food and art, has grown from a modest parking lot to a full-fledged street fest in just five years. The July 20 event brings together food vendors from all over the state, serving Filipino, Mexican, Korean, Hawaiian, Caribbean and more.

Tacoma-based pastry chef Lydia Mendez (Little Miss Sweets NYC, whose flan and more will be available at the festival) created the event in 2020. In recent years, she has collaborated with Julie Davidson on SavorFest and another food-focused celebration called Caribbean Queens. This year, they have combined the events into one with support of Mi Centro, the Hilltop community center that works to support Latino and indigenous families with accessing social services and providing educational and art programming. Maribel Galvan, the nonprofit’s arts and culture director, has joined them as a co-organizer.

From the beginning, Mendez, whose sweet treats honor her Puerto Rican heritage and Brooklyn upbringing, wanted to build a “platform where everyone feels welcome and represented.” SavorFest vendors thus “spotlight local BIPOC chefs, food vendors, artists and performers.”

The vendor lineup includes Tacoma’s own Jan Parker Cookery and Lumpia Love (Filipino), Angel’s Cocina (Mexican tamales) and Trini Plate (Trinidadian). From Seattle, chef Jhonny Reyes will be there with some offerings from his Afro-Latin Seattle restaurant Lenox. There will be Korean from Bulgogi Hustle, Chinese dumplings from Green Steamer, bagels and bialys from Sully Eats, conchas from Bakescapade, cookies from Ube Overload and Filipino-inspired pies (think a pot pie with chicken adobo) from Gray Seas Pies.

Look for cooking demonstrations with The Vault Catering Co. chef Mary Cortez and Susan Burbano of Umma’s Cooking, which offers roving Latin-Asian cooking classes. A “Caribbean Queens mercado” will be selling packaged goods like Hot Babe Hot Sauce and jams from Jammin’ on the One.

The Tacoma Capoeira Center, Pacific Lutheran steel band and Hijos de Agüeybaná (Puerto Rican bomba) will perform.

Oh, and Johnson Candy Co., typically closed on Sundays, will be open — and serving their famous hand-dipped chocolate ice cream bars.

The event is supported in part by a grant from the Tacoma Arts Commission and a matching grant from BECU.

ART ON THE AVE 2025

▪ July 20, noon-7 p.m., artontheave.org — follow instagram.com/6thavetacoma for updates

▪ 6th Ave from Alder to State, Tacoma

Also on Sunday, July 20, the Sixth Avenue Business District hosts the 25th edition of its street festival, Art on the Ave — the largest such event in the city, according to the organizers.

Neighborhood association president and Busy Body co-owner Nathan Chambers said Art on the Ave 2025 is shaping up to reinvigorate a signature summer bash that had shrunk a bit in the post-2020 years. He credited local artist Stein Hansen, who led the planning, for rallying creatives who “haven’t been in a long, long time.”

Hansen also designed the posters with a pretty darn cute tiger mascot sporting an “amocat” shirt.

There will be more than 230 vendors, including dozens of artists. Two special curations are new to the event this year: a special indigenous-centered area of the festival (The Native Art on the Ave) coordinated by La Paloma and stationed outside their store at Junett Street, and a show from CONCEPT, a Tacoma-based experiential creative firm.

Four stages will host bands, most from Tacoma or the South Sound, throughout the day:

▪ X Group and E9 Firehouse will be prepped on Pine Street, featuring The Lumen (Olympia jam band), The Little Donus (an all-Filipino Hall and Oates cover group from Tacoma), The Coolers (punk rock), Wheelies (indie rock) and Serpentfoot (“fuzzed-out” psychedelic rock).

▪ Rotator Creative’s stage will focus on singer-songwriters and DJs, The Real Art Tacoma will feature all-ages bands from the city and O’Malley’s will have an eclectic roster of local groups.

This bustling stretch of Tacoma is known for its vibrant mix of local businesses, and many will be open, some with sidewalk shopping.

Families will find activities in the Kids Zone and the Vuelta La Luna Circus. The Method has teamed up with The Red Hot and Skatelite, a Tacoma-based manufacturer of action-sport surfaces, on a “Gnar at the Bar” mini ramp. Dockyard Roller Derby will have demos throughout the day.

Hungry or thirsty? Explore 15 food and beverage purveyors and five beer gardens sponsored by E9 Brewing Co. and Sixth Ave bars Holy Moly Bar, O’Malley’s, Dirty Oscar’s Annex and Backyard Bar & Grill.

If that’s not enough fun, another Tacoma company, Promo Originals, will be live screen-printing Art on the Ave garb.

Sixth Avenue will be closed to vehicle traffic from Alder to State streets. The event officially runs from noon-7 p.m., but street traffic will shut down early Sunday morning and past the end-time.

Correction, 7/17/2025: A previous version of this article referenced the manager of Lenox. Jhonny Reyes is the chef of the Afro-Caribbean restaurant in Seattle.

This story was originally published July 14, 2025 at 9:00 AM.