9TH ANNUAL WESTWOOD CHILE FEST ON SEPTEMBER 7th

BuCu West’s Ninth Annual Westwood Chile Fest will celebrate Latino art, culture, music and food in the center of Morrison Road

Since 2010, BuCu West Development Association has celebrated the culture of the Westwood community with their annual Westwood Chile Fest (WCF). This year’s Festival will celebrate “creatives and community” of Morrison Road, the heart of the Westwood community, and is an authentic neighborhood based cultural celebration. The Festival originally began as a small community gathering and potluck, but has evolved into a full-fledged street festival with vendors, food trucks, community organizations, live art installations and live music.

BUCU chile fest 2019

“We are excited to see the Westwood Chile Fest take on a life of its own as talented community members contribute to all facets,” says BuCu West Executive Director, Jose Esparza. “The festival was started to celebrate this neighborhood, local business and culture. We invite lovers of art, food, music and families to experience the makers of the Morrison Road Corridor. We are proud to showcase Westwood and the many layers of community that make this a wonderful neighborhood and a treasured cultural hub in Denver.”

The WCF will take place on Saturday, September 7th. The event is free and open to the public and will include entertainment for all ages. Highlights include a community art installation of six nichos (community altars) in partnership with Denver Botanic Gardens, celebrating the third year of the Nichos Art Exchange Project, a Chile Pepper-Eating Contest with peppers harvested directly from the Westwood Food Co-Op’s urban garden, a wide assortment of specialty foods produced in Westwood at the Kitchen Network, over 60 artists and vendors, jump castles and the Denver Parks and Recreation Climbing Wall.

The Westwood Chile Fest will start with a one of a kind cross-cultural ceremony and continue into the evening with live dance, music and so much more. Daytime offerings will include a Youth Arts and Crafts Tent in partnership with Art Students League of Denver, face painting, bounce houses, Climbing Wall, and community favorite, a Pepper Eating Contest. In addition to the daytime activities, Westwood based non-profit, Re:Vision will set up a small scale farmer’s market which will feature fresh organic produce from their urban farm.  The afternoon will shift to a showcase of local musicians and bands, celebrating the diversity of the Westwood Creative District.  The late afternoon and evening will have a livelier mature atmosphere with a shift in music, food, and drink, including a beer and spirits tent.  See below for a list of vendors, music and activities:

Check out the video recap from last year by clicking HERE

Food Trucks/Vendors: Kahlo’s Restaurant, Lily’s Cocina Food Truck, Mujeres Emprendedoras, Simply Le Crepes Food Truck, Two Sweet Food Truck, Empress Grill,  Re:Vision Farmers Market, Fry Bread and Indian Taco Booth, Roasted Hatch Chiles and More

Vendors Include: Local Artists including Refried Rockabilly by Jose Mares, The Empress by Santiago Jaramillo, Grace Noel Art, LLC, Eastlosarte by David and Velia Martinez, Luna Rosa Designs to name a few.  The event will also include many community organizations and businesses from Denver and Westwood.

Activities: Pepper-Eating Contest, Multiple Bounce Houses, Parks and Recreation Climbing Wall, Face Painting, Live Art, Frida Kahlo Art Gallery,  Youth Arts Tent and Live Local Music and Dance.

Live Music by: Sierra León, Roka Hueka, Ultima Generación, TúLips, and Vic N’ The Narwhals. With DJ Polyphoni and MC: Diego Florez

Live Dance by:  Multicultural Opening Ceremony with Aztec Dancers, Nguyen Thieu Youth Dragon Dancers and Denver Indian Center Drum

Drinks: Specialty beers from Blue Moon Brewery Rino and cocktails in partnership with Kimo Sabe Mezcal and Sangre Azul “Blood of the Blue Agave.”

Check out the video recap from last year by clicking HERE!

See you September 7th!