If this summer you’re looking for a new kick to your beer, Michelada is the answer. This traditional Mexican beverage will be celebrated at the first-ever Michelada Festival in the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago this weekend.
The drink originates from San Luis Potosí and gets its name from “mi chela helada,” where “chela” means beer, and “helada” means cold, according to the organizers.
As many Mexican traditional dishes do, the drink has endless recipes and takes, but classically, it’s a beer cocktail that’s prepared with lime juice, salt, and red powdered chile, according to BIG MICH, a Chicago-based family owned michelada company that will be serving their recipes at the venue. Traditionally, a michelada mix is known to contain tomato juice, Mexican lager, fresh lime juice, worcestershire sauce, and maggi seasoning.
“We pride ourselves on producing new and unique events that Chicago Latinos can relate to... and we realized that nobody had produced a Michelada fest yet,” said Fernando Nieto, the founder of Grass Roots Events, an organization based in Pilsen that helps raise money for local non-profits.
This is the second event that Grass Roots Events organizes. Their first event was “Día de la Concha," also the first festival in Chicago to honor the popular Mexican 'pan dulce,’ which took place earlier this year.
This time around, Grass Root Events has partnered up with Illinois Dream Fund and has chosen it as the beneficiary of a portion of the proceeds from the ‘Miche Fest’ as some call it. The entry to the festival is free and won’t have a fixed recommended donation amount. However, donations are encouraged, Nieto said.
DREAMers are a group of undocumented immigrants that were brought to the country as children, named after a bill that has failed to pass Congress since 2001. A portion of these immigrants have been protected from deportation under an Obama administration program called DACA after the recipients proved that they were in school, employed or serving in the military.
“We’re trying to raise $15,000 for the Dream Fund. They’re doing important work, (and now) especially with the lack of funding, we think that Dreamers are a group of people we have to support as much as possible,” said Nieto.
Since the drink has many versions of elaboration, festival organizers will make sure to do them justice, they said. They will be serving up to seven varieties and flavors of the michelada mixes which include: classic, pepino, tamarindo, mango-pineapple habanero, Lagunitas, vegan, and their non-alcoholic option, the ‘miche-nada.’
“Growing up, attending hundreds of family parties, everybody said they had their own version of ‘the best michelada.' People take a lot of pride in the drink,” said Nieto.
“We got huge feedback on social media (for the festival), Latinos asking how they could promote their own mix, and we realized that the michelada is one of the most iconic Mexican drinks.”
Aside from miches, there will be various food vendors, local artists and pop-up shops.
And as a good “botana,” or food to pair with the chilled brew, 10 of the best taquerias in Chicago will be serving tacos, according to organizers of the event.
In order to keep the menu as inclusive as possible, for those that aren’t keen on beer or can’t eat meat or dairy, there will be vegan and vegetarian food options.
The event is family and dog-friendly. They expect a turnout of around 50,000 guests during the weekend. Kid activities such as face painting will take place from noon to 4 pm and VIP packages will also be available so guests will be able to enjoy the festival from private areas with open bar and private bathrooms.
The festival will take place from noon to 10 pm on the 7th to the 8th of July 2018 at 1000 W Cermak Rd. For more information visit their website at www.chicagomicheladafest.com.
Ita Tsai is a freelance writer at HOY Chicago. She studies Journalism and Media Communications at Universidad Carlos III in Madrid, Spain.
