Desert Magic is a one-night-only celebration of the Sonoran Desert’s edible and medicinal plants through food, herbalism, music, and story.

Join us Monday, August 25 after sundown at Tohono Chul Gardens for an evening of chef-prepared plates, plant medicine experiences, live music, and connection to the desert.

What to Expect:

You’ll stroll through the gardens and stop at stations where each chef serves a plate inspired by native desert ingredients like chiltepin, mesquite, prickly pear, native corn, squash, and much more. These are generous, satisfying tastings. With ten chefs serving about 2 ounces or more, you’ll enjoy a full dinner’s worth of food.

Chefs include:

• Ryan Clark (Loews Ventana Canyon)
• David Salazaro (Agustin Kitchen)
• McKenzie O’Leary (Tanque Verde Ranch)
• Tanner Fleming (The Coronet)
• Tyler Fenton (BATA)
• David Marks (Tohono Chul Bistro)
• Pablo Valencia (Scratching The Plate)
• Kelzi Bartholomaei

Your ticket also includes a botanical welcome cocktail, with additional drinks available for purchase.

Alongside the food, wellness practitioners and herbalists will offer hands-on stations, workshops, and ceremonies using native Sonoran plants. Learn, taste, and make remedies while exploring the healing side of desert flora.

Plant medicine experiences include:

• Medicinal Herb Walks with John Slatterly
• Desert Flower Essences and Plant Connection with Mimi Kamp
• Energetic Herbal Cleansing with Dr. Angela Wojtowicz
• Crazy Facts About Sonoran Plants with Jim Koweek
• Cacao Ceremony
• Encounters with Yerba Mansa
• Bath Salt Bar by Di Luna Candles
• Salve and Tincture Making
• Creosote Sachets with Monsoon Mystics
• Geode Cracking with Aquamarine Daydream
• Pressed Flowers and Citrus Art with Heidi Sue
• More to be announced

The evening also includes live music, sound healing, and guided somatic experiences to help you slow down, ground, and connect.

Music and sound experiences:

• Sacred Songs with Música Nidito
• Ambient soundscapes by Naim Amor
• Healing chants with Rachel Strong
• Somatic Experiencing
• Sound Healing

Tickets are $44 and include all food, all workshops and experiences, and a welcome cocktail. Additional beverages and products will be available for purchase.

Space is limited and we expect to sell out in advance.

We hope you’ll join us for an evening of food, plants, music, and connection — a celebration of the wild magic of the Sonoran Desert.

Thank you to our friends and supporters at:

• Tohono Chul
• good food finder
• Salus - a new members-only space for wellness professionals to trade services, join peer groups, attend events, and nurture their own wellbeing

Art

Artwork: “Sonoran Hot Dog Barrel Cactus” by local artist Lauri Kaye