The food promises to be tasty at the 12th Annual Riverside Tamale Festival.

But organizers hope guests will also ponder the cause behind the celebration.

The event will raise money for the nonprofit Spanish Town Heritage Foundation’s mission to preserve the historic Trujillo Adobe.

The adobe is one of Riverside’s oldest historical landmarks and has been named one of the 11 Most Endangered Historic Places by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. It also is nominated for the National Register of Historic Places.

The Tamale Festival is set for 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, April 26, at White Park in downtown Riverside. The theme is Celebración de la Familia.

The celebration will include food, a beer garden, a kids zone, entertainment, art and history while raising money for the adobe’s preservation. Stater Bros. Markets will be the presenting sponsor.

The foundation hopes to raise $50,000 from the festival, a news release states.

Now owned by the Riverside County Regional Park & Open Space District, the adobe in 2022 received $10.4 million for “the preservation and establishment of a cultural and educational center around it,” the release states.

“The grant will help us transform and preserve the adobe to share its rich history with our area, the region, and all of Southern California because this is another true history that is not well known,” foundation President Nancy Melendez said in the release.

“Our ancestors walked along the Old Spanish Trail from New Mexico to California to settle here,” Melendez said. “We wanted to share that story so that all of those folks who have last names like Trujillo, Peña, Martinez, Espinoza and Archuleta know that they had a big role in the founding of this area.”

The festival offers scholarships to high school students who volunteer and is seeking more this year.

Tickets are available through Eventbrite.

Information: rivtamalefest.com