Beer Friends, a nonprofit dedicated to cross-cultural exchanges of craft beer, cider, food, the arts and more, is hosting the inaugural MXPDX event on Friday, July 18, and Saturday, July 19, at The Redd on Salmon, 831 S.E. Salmon St., Portland. (Submitted by Beer Friends)

Imported cerveza and sidra, comida, música and artesanías are at the center of this first-ever Mexico-Oregon festival — a blend of booze, food and arts from the Pacific Northwest and Mexico.

Beer Friends, a nonprofit dedicated to cross-cultural exchanges of craft beer, cider, food, the arts and more, is hosting the inaugural MXPDX event on Friday, July 18, and Saturday, July 19, at The Redd on Salmon, 831 S.E. Salmon St., Portland.

“We wanted to create a festival that the local Mexican community can enjoy as much as those of us who are not Hispanic,” Ezra Johnson-Greenough, co-founder of Beer Friends, said in an email.

The event will switch off from being in Portland and Mexico City annually.

What will be at the event?

Beer Friends worked to go beyond the cliches for this event, working with collaborators born, raised and currently living in Mexico, and local voices in the Pacific Northwest Mexican community.

“It really is about building bridges and forging new friendships that will last generations,” Johnson-Greenough said.

The MXPDX festival will feature 26 beers and ciders exclusive to the event. There are 13 Mexican craft breweries and 13 Oregon craft breweries and cideries that teamed up to create original items that showcase each region and include Mexican ingredients.

Each small-batch Mexican craft cerveceria is also sending up a special flavor from their breweries available in Oregon for the first time.

Here is the lineup of Oregon and Mexico teams:

• pFriem Family Brewers  and Cervecería Hércules
• Zoiglhaus Brewing and Campfire Brewing
• Grand Fir Brewing and Cervecería Cuatro Palos
• Barley Brown’s Beer and Cerveza Cardera
• Sunriver Brewing and Cerveza Santa Sabina
• Claim 52 Brewing and Interstellar Brewery
• Wayfinder Beer and Malteza Cerveceria
• Xicha Brewing and Cervecería Morenos
• La Familia Cider and Cerveceria OBNI
• Monkless Belgian Ales and Cerveza Cyprez
• Upright Brewing and Cerveceria Monstruo de Agua
• Little Beast Brewing andCerveza Cru Cru
• Fort George Brewing and Falling Piano Brewing

Straightaway Cocktails will present a Mexican-style pop-up bar featuring spirits, canned cocktails, micheladas, and new bebida creations. Alumbra Cellars will offer their Mexican-American made wines for tasting, purchase by the glass and bottles to-go.

Vendors will be inside and outside with arts, crafts, jewelry, clothing, housewares, makeup and more.

Authentic Mexican food is on the menu, including tacos, tamales, antojito street food and more.

Here is a lineup of some food vendors:

• Machetes
• Sara Mexican Tamales & Oaxacan Kitchen
• Tostado Coffee Roasters
• Dos Hermanos
• Antojitos 3 Reyes
• Maruka Loka
• Three Sisters Nixtamal
• Hot Mama Salsa
• Don Froylan

Latino DJs will dominate two stages with music and live bands will perform popular Mexican genres, including traditional Aztecan dance, ballet, and luchador wrestling will take place throughout the day.

Let’s look at the three event sessions:

Cantina Celebración from 5-8 p.m. on Friday, July 18

MXPDX kicks off with an all-inclusive party on Friday, July 18th, at The Redd featuring complimentary beers and food from Oregon’s first Mexican-owned brewery: Xicha Brewing.

The MXPDX Cantina Celebración is inspired by authentic Mexico City-style cantinas with a celebratory atmosphere where cervezas and micheladas flow freely with soulful food and lively music.

The party will double as a meet and greet with brewers and owners from all 26 participating breweries from Mexico and Oregon sharing their beers, culture and conversation. Cocktails from Straightaway Cocktails will also be available for additional purchase.

Especial Session from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. on Saturday, July 19

MXPDX kicks off on Saturday, July 19th, with an Especial Session limited to just 300 people.

Attendees of the especial premiere hours will get early limited access to the rare craft beers and ciders and line-free browsing of the mercado market and food hall before the gates open for general admission.

Each especial session admission holder will receive a collectible branded MXPDX glass and 10 drink tickets each exchangeable for 4-ounce pours of the beers and cider.

MXPDX General Admission from 2-8 p.m. on Saturday, July 19

Admission includes a custom MXPDX branded 12-ounce glass and 10 drink tickets each exchangeable for 4-ounce pours of 13 imported Mexican craft breweries’ beers and 13 brand new collaboration beers made with Oregon brewers and cidermakers.

The outdoor layout has open air and covered patios, a full liquor bar featuring Mexican cocktails and drinks by Straightaway Cocktails, a wrestling ring with live luchador wrestling performances and food trucks and gourmet food vendors with snacks, samples and authentic Mexican dishes.

Why host this in Portland?

As a native Portlander and one of five board members who all live in the city, Johnson-Greenough said choosing Portland as the place to host this event came naturally.

“I think this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet new people, explore, and learn more about Mexico and Mexican culture and I hope everyone will get just as much out of this ongoing collaboration as we celebrate this year in Portland and next year in Mexico City,” Johnson-Greenough said.

The crew went on an exploratory trip to Mexico City over a year ago to see if the community would be interested in such event, which Johnson-Greenough described as a big success. He said their partners in Mexico are “just as invested” in the event as Beer Friends is and ensures it is authentically culturally representative.

Beer Friends’ first event was the biennial Fuji to Hood, a Japan-Oregon collaboration beer festival that was held in Portland in 2018, and then in Tokyo in 2019.

For more, visit mx-pdx.com.