Beano at the Estes Park Winter Festival/Chili Cook-Off [PHOTOS]

Prior to this weekend, I had never been to the Estes Park Winter Festival. Now I kind of feel like I've been missing out for the past two yeas. My wife and I made the 45 minute trek to Estes Park to partake in a day of chili-tasting, live music, and beautiful scenery at the 3rd Annual Estes Park Winter Festival at the Fairgrounds at Stanley Park.

I tasted a plethora of wonderful chili concoctions, heard some great music, saw some amazing ice sculptures, and even got to pet a camel. Yes, Winter Fest has a little something for almost everyone.

Look at it this way, entry to the festival is only $5 and includes all the chili tasting you want to do (Sunday's chili cook-off was actually a sanctioned Chili Appreciation Society International competition). There were dozens of chili's available created by people from all walks of life. I tasted some good, and I tasted some that wasn't so good, but I was amazed at what a range of chili flavors I found. I never knew there were so many vastly different chili tastes. I picked my five favorites as part of the judging, but I think my favorite overall was a "Safari Chili" brought in by Mountain Valley Home Bed & Breakfast. There were others I really liked too, but that one was my favorite. I'm interested to see who actually wins the competition.

Aside from the chili-tasting there were also a handful of breweries and wineries on hand (24 wineries, breweries and distilleries, to be exact. Oh,  and four cheese-makers) that you could sample along with the chili for  a $25 dollar ticket instead of $5.

In the same building as the chili-tasting, there was live music playing all weekend (SHEL was on stage while I was there). SHEL is a great act from Fort Collins made up of four sisters that have created an infectious blend of folk, pop, and bluegrass. Check 'em out if you haven't heard them before.

There were also a ton of vendors inside with everything from clothing, to jewelry, to wine-cork birdhouses, and preserves. (We scored a jar of sucrose free blueberry spread...mmm mmm, good.) The Stanley Hotel even had a booth set-up, complete with a Jack Nicholson look-alike.

Aside from the chili cook-off, there was ice skating outside (That didn't work out so well Sunday because the wind was just too strong). There were some great ice sculptures and a a giant "Candy Land" ice castle made with regular and colored ice (nice touch!) with slides that kids could actually play on and enjoy. There was a Chipper's Lanes ice bowling lane, and an actual ice carver working with a chainsaw in the tent as well.

The fairgrounds also housed a nice little petting zoo (free of charge) that had some adorable furry creatures like goats, sheep, llamas and even a camel. There was also a corral for little ones to take pony rides.

Aside from the activities I was able to enjoy today, the 4-day festival included things like horse & carriage rides, winter  mountain trails, star gazing, a barn dance, shopping, scavenger hunts, photo tours, art walk, fly fishing, horseback rides, swimming, and more. You can see the full schedule of events here and see what you missed and plan on coming next year. There are still some winter events going on Monday the 16th.

As Derek blogged about last week Estes Park makes a great stay-cation, and their Winter Fest is just one more great thing the town has to offer.

Check out some of the photos I took today at the Festival and of the Estes scenery below.

[Estes Park Winter Festival]