Salsa Fiesta grows with new competitors

CREEDE— The small mountain town of Creede was a hopping place this weekend as guests headed out for the last hoorah of summer. The town was bustling with guests from all over the United States and beyond as the Labor Day festivities kicked off officially on Saturday morning. The day was sure to please the wandering crowds as business and restaurant owners prepared for the annual Salsa Fiesta. This year the list of participants grew to 23 contestants vying for the top salsa maker title and a trophy.
Last year, the Creede and Mineral County Chamber of Commerce decided to add to the festival by presenting the winner salsa makers with a trophy, which had not been the case in previous years. Now contestants have something to show off after winning the event. Guests spent the morning wandering into the chamber to purchase tickets for the event, which were limited to a specific number due to the amount of salsa made by participants.
“We have some new participants this year and we are pleased to have them,” said Assistant Chamber Director Pam Hahs as she handed out tickets to waiting guests. The new participants in this year’s event included Dragonfly Flats, S.T.A.R. and the Aspen Inn.
Businesses opened their doors just before 11 a.m. to welcome guests in to try their homemade, unique salsa blends and enjoy a sunny fall day shopping and tasting great food. Basham Park was transformed into a child’s dream with a bouncy house and other youth activities to occupy children while their parents took to the streets for their taste of spicy delights.
Participating businesses were as follows Kip’s Grill, Dragonfly Flats, S.T.A.R., Rare Things Gallery, San Juan Sports, the Mac Mine, Tommyknocker Tavern, Creede Olive Oil Company, Arp’s, Ramble House, C. Waters Gallery, Off Broadway, Aspen Inn, Holy Moses, Big River Music, J. Thompson and Loverings Gallery, The Blue Yak Salon and Pizzeria 8852 and Cascada. With the wide variety of participants came a wide range of salsas which consisted of four categories for guests to vote on.
Each guest had a chance to choose their favorite in either red, green, fruit, freestyle and overall favorite. The winners are as follows: the Dragonfly Flats took first in the red category; San Juan Sports placed first in the green category; Cascada Bar and Grill stole the show in the fruit category as well as being dubbed the people’s favorite in the overall category, while the Mac Mine took first in the freestyle.
Everyone who came out and participated in this year’s fiesta spoke highly of the salsa entries and the effort that is put into the event every year. The fiesta was a huge success and sold out for the day.


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