Note that this information is outdated.
It all started in 1992 with an idea by Dave Hernandez, a member of the Downtown Indio Merchants Association.
The rich heritage of the tamale, consistent community support and hard working tamale makers have created the festival's tremendous success.
Recently, the Food Network-TV ranked the Indio International Tamale Festival in the top 10 "All-American Food Festivals" in the nation!
Festival's Guinness World Records:
The World's largest Tamale-over 1 foot in diameter and 40 feet in length, Dec. 4, 1999. The World's largest tamale festival-with 120,000 in attendance, Dec. 2-3, 2000.
The Festival is between Highway 111 and Indio Boulevard and fills-in the streets of Miles, Towne, Smurr & Requa.For more info go to http://www.tamalefestival.net/index.html
When/Where: Indio California December 6th & 7th 2008 ( always the first weekend in December)