Southern Colorado boasts best green chile at Chile & Frijoles Festival

Southern Colorado is set to heat up this weekend as it welcomes more than 150,000 visitors at its 30th Annual Chile & Frijoles Festival in Pueblo. Before the chiles begin roasting on the Riverwalk, however, the Chili and Salsa Showdown is the appetizer to the main event. CBS News Colorado First at 4 Anchor Mekialaya White was a judge along with 10 others at the showdown this year.

It featured more than 120 entries of commercial and non-commercial red and green chile and salsa. Some packed a punch. For the spicier entries, of course, there was plenty of milk on standby.

"We just ask that you bring your appetite," said Cara Siegel, Marketing and Engagement Coordinator for Visit Pueblo & the Greater Pueblo Chamber.

She says the Chile Festival originally started as a fun way to promote the agricultural roots of Pueblo. Thirty years later, it is that and so much more, including over 200 vendors and 50 live bands.

She also says the city is thrilled to welcome visitors.

"We are a short, 90-mile drive from Denver. We actually get a lot of people from Northern Colorado. When they are here, they get to absorb all the culture that Pueblo has to offer, all the way from our great food to our museums to our unique events like the jalapeno eating contest, the chihuahua parade."

Siegel adds, there's nothing like Pueblo chile.

"From September to October, there's an aroma in the air that is indescribable, those chiles being roasted."

To learn more about the Pueblo Chile Festival festivities or if you'd like to check it out for yourself this weekend, visit pueblochilefestival.com .