Bowers >> Connoisseurs of spicy packed William Delong Park to test their taste buds this past weekend at the 19th Annual Bower’s Chile Pepper Food Festival.
On Friday and Saturday, vendors, locals, tourists, crafters and musicians gathered together for a one-of-a-kind celebration that included music, contests and a lot of spicy taste testing.
“It’s a unique gathering of pepper products,” said Chris Markey, one of the festival’s creators and organizers. “There isn’t one place you would find all the things that are here.”
The festival grew from last year, attracting between 12,000 and 14,000 visitors and including vendors from Vermont, Michigan, Ohio, North Carolina and Indiana.
“It’s become a tradition,” said Markey. “Someone asked me if the Chile pepper was just a fad, but with the ethnic background in the United States, it’s here to stay.”
That proved true, as visitors gathered to try all the spicy treats they could devour. Vendors offered their own versions of hot sauce, honey, mustard, jelly, beef jerky and even ice cream.
Spice Cream, ice cream with a hint of spice, was one of the more daring endeavors at the festival and was offered by Bonfatto’s, a vendor based out of Bellefonte, PA.
Chris Hane and Jerry Hall were at the festival representing for the owner, Dave Letterman. Hane, Letterman’s son-in-law, experienced his first year at the festival, although Bonfatto’s has been showing up for three years.
“Other pepper and hot sauce vendors said we had a great product, and we should come,” said Hane.
Other vendors didn’t have to travel so far to be a part of the festival.
Sherry’s HodgePodge, LLC is a company based out of Fleetwood, about 10 minutes from the festival. Owner Sherry Laity and her daughter Amber Warfel came back for their second year, offering pepper jams, pickles and pepper dips, along with a variety of other items.
“I love getting to meet new people, spend the day outside and sell our good stuff,” said Laity.
Laity owns a commercial kitchen in Fleetwood and quit her job to commit to her business full time.
While the tasting is one of the best things about the event, the festival also offered entertainment and contests for its visitors.
On Friday at 2 p.m., visitors were invited to enter the Salsa Contest. The 18 contestants entered their homemade salsas for a chance at the trophy. The entries were judged by visiting vendors. They included Kat Welsh from Chicago’s Bigfat’s Hot Sauce, Chris Biery from Northhampton’s Twisted Twins Salsa and Tony Brochu from Robesonia’s Two-Can Kettle Corn.
When the judges were done and the scores were tallied up, John Bixler, another festival creator, announced the results. Rick Kleckner took the 3rd place trophy, Dale Kilpatrick took second and Eric Eppler of Bethlehem took the first place trophy.
“This is great. I didn’t expect this,” said Eppler. “My wife sent me the email about it, it’s my first time here.”
Eppler collects hot sauces, grows his own garden and loves to cook. He entered a fruit-based salsa with a Thai kick that wowed the judges.
When asked if he would enter next year, he said, “Definitely. It was a good feeling, and I would recommend it to others who like to cook.”
Another pleasure of the festival was the variety of musicians brought in by Butch Imhoff of the Acoustic Roadshow. Imhoff played his own tunes for the crowd while they waited for the salsas to be judged.
“Does anybody think it’s crazy to be eating hot peppers on a day like this?” he asked the crowd. “Any day is a good day for eating hot peppers.”
Imhoff showcases local and regional talent and brings musicians to play.
“We have Irish, Blues, Texas Swing, anything you can think of,” he said. “I just hope the people go away whistling a tune of these performers has played.”
Imhoff has been at the festival for 15 years.
“I love the food and especially the people,” he said. “This is the best festival to be at.”
The festival is one-of-a-kind, and people from all over enjoyed the efforts of its organizers.
“It’s family-oriented,” said Linda Swavely of Fleetwood. “I’ve been here five years in a row. It’s the same people that come every year.”
The festival also benefits the community.
“A percentage goes to the Lion’s Club for doing the parking, and a percentage goes to the Boy Scouts for keeping the park clean,” said Markey. “The year the Boy Scouts stop coming is the year this thing is done,” Markey joked.
The festival was created 19 years ago by Markey and Bixler and continues to be a hit year after year.
“I like seeing the same people and the friendships that form,” said Markey. “It’s become a tradition.”
For more information on the Bower’s Chile Pepper Festival, visit www.pepperfestival.com.
