Manchester’s Taco Tour returns
Manchester’s annual Taco Tour will take place Thursday, May 28, from 4 to 8 p.m.
For one afternoon each year, the city closes downtown to traffic and invites the world to dive deeply into dozens of interpretations of tacos.
According to the event’s website, tacotourmanchester.com, “Taco Tour Manchester is the one day of the year where downtown Manchester restaurants and venues all serve delicious tacos! Elm Street will be shut down for locals and visitors alike to have a terrific time sampling all the tacos that they can possibly eat during the four hour long festival. Taco Tour Manchester is most importantly a chance to visit our wonderful downtown and discover something new from our amazing restaurants.”
Restaurants and civic organizations from around Manchester will present their versions of tacos to an estimated 20,000 taco enthusiasts for $3 per taco. According to its organizers, more than 100 area restaurants will participate in this year’s event.
One of those restaurants will be Slightly Crooked Pies (1209 Elm St., Manchester, 661-4575, slightlycrookedpies.com). Lauren Cline is the owner. She is excited about seeing Taco Tour “from the other side of the table.”
“My family and I have done it a number of years in a row, even in the rain,” Cline said, “and it is amazing to see the energy downtown with all of those people. I can’t wait to watch it from that perspective.”
Cline and her staff are preparing two taco-inspired pies for Taco Tour, she said.
“We’re doing our mini hand pies, which are basically the same as an empanada. And we are going to do a peach mango one dusted in Tajin [spice mix] and apple cinnamon churro. They look like a crimped taco,” Cline said.
Dakota Jones is a New Hampshire-based food influencer, who publishes content under the name Food With Heart [instagram.com/foodwith_heart]. She is a big fan of the Taco Tour. It is the way many people discover Manchester, she said.
“It is the world’s largest taco tour. … It combines local community and tourism, but with a kind of community feeling,” Jones said.
Jones’ advice for going to Taco Tour is to go with friends. “It’s great to go alone,” she said, “but it’s also great to go with more people. I like to have someone else with me, so we can get in different lines. … If you go with a group, you get to actually experience more because you can all share a taco.”
Restaurants will be competing for the title of Best Taco and Most Creative Taco, the website said. Last year’s winners were Thai Food Connection for Best Taco and Stashbox for Most Creative Taco, the website said.
There will be two contests for die-hard Taco Tour fans this year, the website said.
“For the first time ever, Taco Tour Manchester is opening the Grand Marshal selection to the community. One lucky attendee will be randomly selected to eat the inaugural taco and officially open Taco Tour Manchester 2026 in front of thousands of fellow taco lovers at the all-new Inaugural Ceremony at Veterans Park. One winner will be selected at random during the Taco Tour Manchester Inaugural Ceremony at Veterans Park on May 28, 2026. Entrants must be present at Veterans Park by 3:30 p.m. on May 28, 2026 to be eligible to win,” the website said.
Additionally, Taco Tour fans can register on the Taco Tour website to win “an ultimate Taco Tour Manchester 2026 experience”: “This year, Taco Tour Manchester is giving away two VIP experiences, with each winner receiving access for themselves and one guest to join the exclusive VIP Tour through Downtown Manchester … VIP guests will skip the lines, enjoy tacos included at participating Greater Manchester Chamber member restaurants, meet local restaurateurs, and sample beverages along the way — all while experiencing Taco Tour like never before.”
The evening will also feature music. There will be a stage on Hanover Street featuringDave Corson (4 to 5 p.m.), Alli Beaudry (5:20 to 6:20 p.m.) and Brother Seamus (6:45 to 7:45 p.m.), the website said. A band stage will be at the Brady Sullivan Plaza on Elm Street will feature Joe Deleault and Cody James (4:15 to 5:30 p.m.) and The Jonathan Sarty Band (6 to 7:30 p.m.), according to tacotourmanchester.com/concert.
Saint Philip Greek Food Festival
When: Friday, May 15, and Saturday, May 16, from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Where: St. Philip Greek Orthodox Church, 500 W. Hollis St., Nashua, 889-4000, stphilipnashua.com.
More: There will be free parking, a shuttle bus, Greek dancing and live music. Visit nashuagreekfestival.com.
Featured photo: Taco Tour 2025. Photo by Vinny Marino. Courtesy Greater Manchester Chamber.