By Stephany Trego

LAS CRUCES, NM – New Mexico Chile and wine have one thing in common this Labor Day weekend, festivals held in their honor. Whether you’re wanting to sip on some of the finest wine in the area, or eat the hottest Chile west of the Mississippi, you won’t have to travel far.

Frequently featured on Food Network and other documentaries around the world, the Hatch Chile Festival was started 37 years ago by local Chile farmers as a big party to celebrate the Chile harvest.

The festival will begin on Saturday, August 30th with a parade at 10:00 a.m. and continue through Sunday, August 31st.  The festival events will be held at the Chile Festival Grounds (which is also on the Hatch Airport grounds) about 1 mile west of Hatch on Hwy 26 toward Deming.

Admission for the festival is only $5 per carload, and events will include a Chile cook-off and roasting, musical entertainment, coronation of the Chile Queen, Chile pod competition, carnival rides and fiddling contests.

“People from all over the country wait all year to come to Hatch during the festival to get their fresh green Chile supply for winter,”  said Marcia Nordyke, festival coordinator.  “The chamber receives calls daily making sure when the festival is so they can make the pilgrimage here to get that fresh roasted drug.”

Nordyke said the soil temperatures in the valley are what make Hatch’s Chile the best around and why they are called the Chile Capital of the World. 

 Every year, over 30,000 Chile fans come from all over to taste the Worlds Best Chile (that’s 28,000 more people than the entire population of Hatch).

A glass of wine and you’ll be fine at the Ninth Annual Harvest Wine Festival that was started in the tradition of celebrating the grape harvest.

The festival will be held from noon to 6:00 p.m. Saturday, August 30th through Monday, September 1st. In addition to grape stomping, wine education classes, arts and crafts vendors, and food vendors, the festival will feature live music from UndisKovered, Zane Lewis, Nostros, Captain Radio, and Rebecca Owen.

Southern New Mexico State Fairgrounds will host the event and admission is $13 for adults 21 and over and free for those under 21 (however, minors must be accompanied by an adult). Also, Monday is Military Monday and active military will receive $3 off admission with their military ID. 

“The wine festival is a great place for people to sample a large assortment of different wines and learn more about the types of wines grown all over New Mexico,” said Dawn Starostka, event planner. 

For more information, contact the Las Cruces Convention & Visitors Bureau at 505-541-2150, or by email at cfaivre@las-cruces.org.

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