How many tacos can you eat in two minutes? Delaware Taco Fest intends to find out.

When Wilmington's Robert Brazas helped launch the first Delaware Taco Festival two summers ago, little did he know he was taking the first step in building a mini taco empire.

With a larger footprint at Wilmington's Frawley Stadium this weekend and a record-setting crowd of 5,000 expected, Delaware's biggest taco-centric gathering is beginning to cement itself as a tradition.

But not just here in Delaware.

Brazas, co-founder of the Springfield, Pennsylvania's A Taste of Your Town event company that runs Delaware Taco Festival, now hosts taco festivals in several other cities across the East Coast.

The fests, which are modeled after the Delaware event, are now held annually in places everywhere from Philadelphia, Baltimore and Louisville, Kentucky to Cleveland and both Norfolk and Virginia Beach, Virginia.

While A Taste of Your Town also organizes and hosts events such as bar crawls and food tastings, their growing roster of taco festivals makes up about 50 percent of the business.

"We're really excited about the growth of our taco festivals," says Brazas, a Delaware native whose company is also behind Philadelphia's annual Cheesesteak & Food Fest, to be held Oct. 13 at 2300 Arena. "After growing up with all of these great Delaware festivals like the Italian Festival and Oktoberfest, we thought, 'Why not us?'

"We want this to be a tradition like those — events people put on their calendar every year."

After complaints about lines and a lack of shade in 2016, organizers made fixes for last year's event, which went a lot more smoothly thanks to circus tents and a more streamlined entry.

This year, the focus has been on adding new attention-getting offerings, including the introduction of a sure-to-be-sloppy taco-eating competition. The winner takes home $100 and, more importantly, free Tuesday taco meals for an entire year from Del Pez Mexican Gastropub on the city's Riverfront.

But the real star of the show are the $3 tacos they will be serving from 31 Mexican restaurants and vendors from Delaware and the surrounding region. (It costs $14.99 to get in.)

If you're a Mexican food obsessive or hold Taco Tuesday as a weekly national holiday, Delaware Taco Festival was made for you ... and for Gary Naylor of North East, Maryland. 

Naylor is the Mexican food-lover behind the Delaware Mexican Food Reviews Facebook page, posting under the name Lord Tamale and tracking his quest to review every Mexican joint in the state.

Since Jan. 1, he's been to 35 different spots, posting detailed reviews, photos and giving each location a rating from 0 to 10. (Downtown Wilmington's Cocina Lolo owns his highest rating — a tough-to-get 9.3 — after he was wowed by their carne asada. Newark's El Diablo is at the bottom of his list with a stinging .9 rating.)

Even with 8-1/2 months of tacos, enchiladas, chimichangas and burritos under his belt, the Delaware Taco Festival will be like shooting tacos in a barrel for Naylor.

He'll be searching for places that he has not yet visited.

"I'm stoked to get there and try a bunch of tacos. I'm going to go right down the line,"  says Naylor, who works in manufacturing for Newark-based W.L. Gore & Associates. "When I first started doing this, I thought it was going to be pretty easy to get to every spot, but there are a lot more places than I expected. Delaware is actually pretty stacked."

His quest was a New Year's resolution purely based on his intense love of Mexican cuisine, and ignoring more tradition resolutions like joining a gym. In fact, he reports that he has gained 20 pounds in 2018 thanks to his tasty new hobby.

"I think about tacos every day. I really do," says Naylor, 42.

He'll have plenty of company Saturday as taco vendors strut their stuff, offering just about any type of taco imaginable.

In addition, the festival will also be offering Jose Cuervo margaritas (frozen and traditional), Red Bull and vodka drinks, beer (Miller Lite, Dos Equis and Sol) and tequila flights in the Tequila Expo Tent. The tent will offer 30-plus types of tequila for fest fans to taste.

The vast majority of vendors will be set up in Frawley's parking lot with a few located on the main concourse of the stadium where Silent Philly will be hosting a silent disco dance party. A cornhole tournament will also be held.

The effect will be a Firefly Music Festival-like experience filled with activities beyond consuming tacos. It's entertainment aimed at the 25-35 crowd, which makes up 75 percent of the Delaware Taco Festival attendees. The event will also have a children's area.

Barzas says he and fellow A Taste of Your Town owners David Feldman Sr. and David Feldman Jr. decided to beef up the entertainment aspect (eating competition, dance party, live bands) to make the festival more than just a food and drink event.

Ten acts, including a Mariachi band, will perform on an outdoor stage from 1 to 7 p.m., along with two DJs.

For the new taco-eating contest, competitors can sign up on site the day of. It's free and about 10 contestants will be chosen. They will have two minutes to eat as many street tacos as possible. Last year's hot chili pepper contest will be back as well.

"All of this just adds more fun and excitement to it," says Brazas, whose taco festival drew 3,900 in 2016 and 4,500 last year. "In this day and age, you can get good food anywhere. People come out for the experience and we made this an experience — a fun experience."

So what's next?

Brazas teases that he has a couple of ideas for new Delaware festivals, but demurred when asked what they were. 

"We have two in the works, but I don't want to unravel that yet," he says. "We're in talks right now."

Contact Ryan Cormier of The News Journal at rcormier@delawareonline.com or (302) 324-2863. Follow him on Facebook (@ryancormier), Twitter (@ryancormier) and Instagram (@ryancormier).

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Third annual Delaware Taco Festival

WHEN: Saturday, noon to 7 p.m. (General admission entry is at 1 p.m. Noon is for VIP only.)

WHERE: Frawley Stadium, 801 Shipyard Drive

PARTICIPATING RESTAURANTS AND VENDORS: Los Taquitos De Puebla, Real Mex Kitchen, Jalapeno Grill, Panchos Cafe, Mi Pueblito Tacos, The Roaming Raven, Mr. Taco, Calle Del Sabor, Locos Tropos, Plaza De Sol, Ole Tapas Food Truck, Sweet Josephines, Nude Food, Atexcac, Del Pez Mexican Gastropub, Dos Gringos Mexican Kitchen, Passanante's Home Food, 8th & Union Kitchen, Sergeants Smoke BBQ, Battiato Farms Ice Cream, Doggie Style Food Truck, Los Gallos, Zaikka on Wheels, Bombay Kitchen Food Truck, Taste of Brazil, Kapow Food Truck, Dino's Water Ice, El Sabor De Puebla, Viva Bowls, Wildwich and Happy Hour Cart.

COST: General admission is $14.99. The $54.99 VIP tickets are sold out. Tacos are $3 each.

INFORMATION AND TICKETS: facebook.com/DelawareTacoFest