Sept. 8, 2026 | 11:20 a.m. MDT
Roger M Rael
The Raton Range
TRINIDAD, CO — Chile, live music, and a full day of activities filled the schedule Saturday as the Friends of Ludlow hosted the 2026 Chile Festival in downtown Trinidad.
The festival was held from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. near the Southern Colorado Coal Miners Memorial at Main and Convent streets. Organizers advertised food and retail vendors, live music, a car and bike show, a horseshoe tournament, a beer garden, and several chile-centered competitions.
Chile remained at the center of the event, with chili and salsa competitions scheduled along with a jalapeño-eating contest. The festival also included VIP seating and activities intended to keep visitors downtown throughout the day.
Friends of Ludlow sponsored the event. The organization has worked to preserve and promote the history of southern Colorado’s coal communities, making the Coal Miners Memorial a fitting backdrop for a festival combining food, entertainment and regional history.
The festival fell during a busy Labor Day weekend in Trinidad, with several community events taking place across the area.
Organizers promoted the Chile Festival as an opportunity for local vendors, cooks and community members to participate in a full-day downtown event. Vendor registration remained open until shortly before the festival.
The Raton Range did not attend Saturday’s festival and had not received official attendance figures or verified contest results as of publication. Those figures will be added if they become available.
For Trinidad, the event provided another September gathering built around something southern Colorado knows particularly well: chile, community, and a little competition over whose recipe brings the most heat.
