Thousands celebrate at Hatch Chile Festival over Labor Day weekend
The annual festival in Hatch gathers over 30,000 visitors each Labor Day weekend to celebrate the state’s iconic green and red chiles during harvest season.
Digital Assignment Editor
For more than 50 years, farmers and food enthusiasts have come together in Hatch, New Mexico, to celebrate the state’s famous chile bearing the village’s name.
The annual Hatch Chile Festival attracts more than 30,000 visitors every Labor Day weekend, uniting people around the green and red crop that defines the flavor of the Land of Enchantment.
The festival included a parade, a chile-eating contest, and plenty of opportunity to purchase an abundance of red and green chile products.
This year, KOAT spoke with the Hatch Chile Queen, who said she hopes to inspire others to take on her role at future festivals.
“I always remember growing up and seeing other Hatch Chile Queens represent Hatch, and I’ve always been so excited for it to be my turn,” Leslie Porras told KOAT.
“I’m so excited to inspire other little girls to run one day in the future,” she said.
As for red or green? This year’s Hatch Chile Queen said she leans more toward the green than the sun-ripened red variety.
The Hatch chile harvest generally runs from July to October.
