The centuries-old tradition of making, as well as eating, Christmas tamales has begun. And, on Friday night, you can savor those crafted by seven local tamale makers in downtown Fresno.

The event is the Tamale Throwdown promoted by Fresno Street Eats and hosted by Tioga Sequoia Brewing Co. at 745 Fulton St.

“We’ll have judges’ choice and people’s choice awards to hand out, deciding who has the best tamales in the Central Valley,” says Mike “Oz” Osegueda, founder and president of Fresno Street Eats.

Among the seven competitors: Me Gusta Tamales, which has won awards throughout California; Tamale Mama, which is a viral local success story; and Miguel’s Salsa, recently named the No. 1 place to eat in the Valley by Yelp.

The event is from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., admission is free, and all ages are welcome.