Viva Phoenix music and culture festival returns to downtown area after 7 year hiatus

PHOENIX - Music and culture festival, Viva Phoenix, returns to downtown tomorrow. 

The one-day event will highlight local businesses, artists and musicians. 

The festival is back after a seven-year hiatus. All of your favorite downtown venues will be packed with 70 up and coming artists.

"Viva Phoenix is a celebration of Phoenix," said Matt Baquet,co-director of the event.

Viva PHX is a venue crawl with music and - of course - food, all in the heart of downtown.

"We will have local small business vendors. We will have various food vendors like Bocanora, Bad Jimmys, Restaurant Progress and more," said Baquet.

Viva PHX focuses on local vendors, musicians and artists because what better place is there to showcase your work than your home state?

"We have a focus on emerging talent. We also have 50% of our talent coming right here from Arizona which we are very proud of," Baquet said.

"It is great to have this experience of participating in things that happen in the city," said artist Sebastian Villamil, who run the Villamil & Villamil Instagram page.

If you're not familiar with Viva PHX, it's because this one-day event was last put on seven years ago.

"Viva Phoenix was a beloved event that existed from 2014-2017 and we're super excited to be reviving it here seven years later and showcasing why Phoenix is the hottest place to be, literally and figuratively," Baquet said. 

The festival is back just as Phoenix experiences an end to a record-breaking heatwave.

It takes place on Saturday, Oct. 19 beginning at 2:00 p.m. and goes until 2:00 a.m. It's not too late to buy tickets, general admission is $70.