Depending on your tastes, there is a food and drink festival event every weekend (and many weekdays, too) from now through September and beyond.
After two years of canceled events and daunting challenges, the state of Colorado is open for tasting again.
The feast starts with a dose of chocolate candy, fountains, brownies and coffees, May 6-7, at the Colorado Chocolate Festival in Denver (cochocolatefests.com).
The easiest way to explore Colorado’s burgeoning, award-winning wineries is at the Manitou Springs Wine Festival, June 4. More than 30 Colorado wineries will be pouring (manitousprings.org).
More wine appreciation moments are available at: Crested Butte Wine & Food Festival, July 20-23 (cbwineandfood.org); Vail Wine Classic, August 11-13 (vailwineclassic.com); and the main event, the Colorado Mountain Wine Festival, Sept. 17, in Palisade (coloradowinefest.com).
Father’s Day is all about smoked pork, beef, turkey and sides at two big barbecue competitions. The long-running Frisco BBQ Challenge is June 17-18 in downtown Frisco (townoffrisco.com). The newer Denver BBQ Festival is June 17-19 at Empower Field (denverbbqfest.com).
Attention hops nerds! Rare and one-off historic beers, ancient recipes, retired craft beer classics and more are on tap at the Brewsology Beer Fest, June 18 at Denver’s History Colorado Center (brewsology.com).
Our state offers a frothy mix of beer festivals this summer including: Colorado Brewers Rendezvous, July 9, in Salida (coloradobeer.org); Lake Dillon Beer Festival, June 11, in Dillon (coloradobeer.org); Vail Craft Beer Classic, June 17-18, in Vail (vailcraftbeerclassic.com; and the granddaddy of them all, the 40th anniversary Great American Beer Festival, Oct. 6-8 in Denver (greatamericanbeerfestival.com).
Two June festivals combine our food and drink passions. Top Taco, June 23 in Denver, features unlimited taco tastes, tequila cocktails and voting in four taco categories (toptacofest.com). At Keystone’s Bacon and Bourbon Festival, June 25-26, diverse bacon-centric dishes are paired with bourbon (keystonefestivals.com).
August in Colorado is always about the state’s many magnificent agricultural wonders. The Eagle Mushroom & Wild Food Festival, Aug. 5-7 in Eagle, boasts serious fungi classes, forays and food (eaglemushroomfest.com).
All-you-can-eat corn and a corn-eating contest are a big part of the Olathe Sweet Corn Festival, Aug. 6, in Olathe (olathesweetcornfestival.com).
At the risk of offending the corn, melon and chile folks, peaches may be the consensus favorite for Colorado’s favorite summer crop. All things peach-related are celebrated Aug. 12–13 at the Palisade Peach Festival (palisadepeachfest.com).
While it hasn’t reached the popular heights of Colorado beer and wine, Colorado artisan ciders are rapidly gaining critical fame and a national audience. Find out why at Cidermass, Aug. 20 in Snowmass (cidermass.com).
The sweet melons that Colorado made famous are served up along with a day of rodeo, horse races, a demolition derby and carnival food Aug. 20 at the Arkansas Valley Fair in Rocky Ford (arkvalleyfair.com).
Finally, top off the season with the crop that makes New Mexicans cry, magnificent green and red Colorado chilies. Work up a sweat Sept. 23-25 at the Pueblo Chile & Frijoles Festival (pueblochilefestival.com).
Boulder Recipe Flashback: Lucile’s Creole Café
Since Lucile’s Creole Café opened in an old downtown Boulder house in 1980, it has championed Louisiana fare. In the late 1990s, a reader requested the recipe for this full-flavored and rich soup. Lucile’s has expanded gradually to six locations with a seventh breakfast and lunch café set to open soon in Erie.
Lucile’s Sweet Potato Crab Soup
1 1/4 pounds sweet potatoes or yams, peeled and cut in slices
1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onions
3/4 cup chopped green bell peppers
3/4 cup chopped celery butter or vegetable oil
3/4 cup dry sherry
1 1/2 cups milk
2 cups heavy cream
2 teaspoons brown sugar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons Lucile’s Creole
Seasoning (or similar spice mixture)
1/4 pound crabmeat
Boil sweet potatoes or yams until soft and drain. Sauté onions, green peppers and celery in oil or butter until soft. Then add sherry and boil for three minutes. Puree vegetables with sweet potatoes in a food processor. Put into a pot, stir in remaining ingredients except crab and simmer on low for 20 minutes. Add crabmeat, taste and adjust seasonings and heat level. If the soup is too thick, thin with vegetable or seafood broth. Makes about eight servings. Serve with Tabasco sauce.
