ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – There is not a whole lot that New Mexicans love more than chile. With fall right around the corner, Bernalillo County is kicking off chile season this weekend with the Bosque Chile Fest. This year’s Chile Fest will feature live music, art, and of course, lots of the treasured crop.
Catherine Lopez, Cultural Affairs and Marketing Manager with Bernalillo County, said this is the first time since the pandemic that the festival is back in person, marking the ninth year of the chile celebration.
“This is a great opportunity to learn about the culture, about what makes New Mexico New Mexico, about the tradition – especially in our foods and the people itself,” said Lopez.
This is also the first year that there will be a chalk mural at the festival. Holly Stuart from Rio Rancho was selected to create the mural. Stuart has been working on her masterpiece since the beginning of the month.
“My husband and my father-in-law have been very supportive. They’ve been ordering food or cooking because this has all been very consuming for me the past couple weeks,” said Stuart.
Stuart made sure to incorporate symbols of New Mexican culture, like hot air balloons and the Sandia mountains, making it the perfect backdrop for everyone’s social media pictures. “We’re really hoping it’ll become that selfie station that everybody can do,” said Lopez.
The Bosque Chile Fest will be at Expo New Mexico, Villa Hispana. Doors open on Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. and on Sunday morning at 11 a.m. Tickets can be purchased online. To learn more about the Bosque Chile Fest, click here.
