The sweet, spicy aroma of roasting chile peppers will permeate the southern Colorado air this weekend during the 28th annual Pueblo Chile & Frijoles Festival. Located downtown along Union Avenue, the lively celebration promotes the city’s rich agriculture and passion for the prized chiles.

Along with local fresh products for sale, there will be live entertainment, street vendors, cooking demonstrations, eating competitions, a chihuahua parade and a balloon fest. Between 150,000 and 160,000 are expected to attend Friday through Sunday.

Several tons of chiles will be roasted and sold, as 180 vendors market chile-infused cuisine, merchandise and locally inspired products. For the past 20 years, Mission Foods, the No. 1 tortilla company in the U.S., has been a vendor at the festival, selling tortillas, chips, salsas and dips.

“If you like people, this is the place to be,” Mission Foods district sales manager Chris Rosales said. “This is the most enjoyable event we do. People share family recipes with us that highlight new and unusual ways to use our products.”

Donielle Kitzman, vice president of the Greater Pueblo Chamber of Commerce, said this year’s chile crop has been excellent. The fertile soil, hot days and cool nights of the region produce a variety of spicy and exceptionally flavorful chiles.

“This festival provides not only our community, but the entire region, an opportunity to celebrate our heritage and come together to enjoy our amazing agriculture food, and talent,” Kitzman said. “It truly puts Pueblo in a national spotlight.”

The festival affords visitors the opportunity to meet the chile growers and watch as the chiles are roasted onsite. Shane Milberger started growing chiles in the Pueblo area 34 years ago and has been involved with the festival since it began. His family business, which includes a well-known restaurant and farmer’s market, has segued into a successful enterprise that sells wholesale produce and chile products.

“The Pueblo Chile Festival has helped farms and the community tremendously by bringing a bigger footprint to the Pueblo chile’s name,” Milberger said.

A festival favorite beyond the chiles is Sunday’s Chihuahua parade. Owners dress up their pooches in sombreros, sunglasses and serapes. Categories include Most Macho, Best Costume, Best Shaker and Channel Your Inner Chihuahua.

Another highly anticipated event is the jalapeño eating contest Sunday. Contestants compete while demonstrating their heat index tolerance.

Home cooks and commercial kitchens compete in the chili and salsa showdown, where celebrity judges evaluate an array of spicy, sweet, and savory entries; the awards are Friday evening and attendees can sample the winning recipes.

The balloon fest will be held for the second year and features a Friday evening balloon glow on the Riverwalk, and inflations and ascensions Saturday and Sunday mornings at 24th and High streets.

Throughout the weekend, more than 60 local and regional entertainment acts will perform on four festival stages. The wide range of genres includes jazz, country, rock, blues, Tex/Mex and classic Spanish.