3 reasons to explore Oro Valley Meet Yourself

The first ever Oro Valley Meet Yourself wants you to rethink that this weekend.

“The diversity is contrasting because really, this is suburbia,” says Maribel Alvarez, the executive program director of the Southwest Folklife Alliance, the organization that produces Tucson Meet Yourself. “Let’s not beat around the bushes.”

Alvarez says Oro Valley has about 40 ethnic groups represented in the town, even if some of those groups have only a few families.

When the town partnered with the Southwest Folklife Alliance to put on the family-friendly festival, Alvarez and her team began exploring the community, especially in the private sphere.

Even where life looks homogeneous, “You’re still cooking traditional Filipino cuisine in your home, or your home has the smell of Indian curry,” Alvarez says.

That being said, here are three reasons to check out the new festival.

1. The food (obviously): From Tohono O’odham food that celebrates the area’s ancestry to Cajun and Costa Rican dishes prepared by Oro Valley residents, Meet Yourself festivities always mean authentic eats.

Alvarez says restaurants Saffron Indian Bistro, 7607 N. Oracle Road, and It’s Greek to Me, 15920 N. Oracle Road in Catalina, will also be at the festival.

2. The size: Because of the festival’s educational emphasis and smaller size, Alvarez expects this to feel like a 5-year-old Tucson Meet Yourself back in the day.

3. The folklife: As Alvarez sees it, folklife goes beyond ethnic culture to include traditions found within occupations or religions.

That means Oro Valley’s firefighters, Muslims and quilters all have a place at this festival.