Hot sauce lovers again converge on annual Chile Pepper Food Festival in Bowers

Sep. 9—It was less than two hours after the Chile Pepper Food Festival opened in Bowers on Friday and Radhi Fernandez already knew he hadn't brought enough hot sauce to sell.

The owner of Philadelphia-based Faiya was set up as a vendor at the annual event for the first time and didn't know quite what to expect, so he drove 250bottles to the festival in his van.

By 11 a.m., though, as he saw flocks of customers enjoying samples of his "What the Fuego" and other flavors of his sauce, he realized he'd likely sell out.

"I need to reload. Tomorrow I'm bringing 500 bottles," he said.

Fernandez also noticed that as a newcomer to the festival he was a rarity. Most visitors pointed out to him that they come every year, and they noticed that he was a first-timer there.

"It's great here," he said. "I love the energy."

There was another reason Fernandez liked his trip to Berks county. The only other pepper festival that Fernandez sold his sauce since he opened in 2020 was in New Mexico, a trek that took him four days. The two-hour drive from Philly was much easier.

While Saturday is typically the busier day of the festival held at William Delong Park in Maxatawny Township, there was a good crowd already on Friday as people took advantage of the great weather.

The festival runs from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday.

John and Cheryl Tumulo of Ruscombmanor Township arrived early Friday and were enjoying samples from among the dozens of hot sauce, salsa and other vendors on hand, but John was feeling the effects.

"My nose is already running and my ears are sweating," he said. "You know it's been a rough morning when your ears are sweating."

John and most of the other visitors wouldn't want it any other way, though, as evidenced by how many were filling bags with bottles and jars to go.

The guys working the ever-popular jalapeno popper stand had 2,000 peppers cut and ready to stuff with bacon, pineapple, lump crabmeat and cream cheese, and expected those would sell out by Saturday morning.

Some visitors said they buy those poppers every year, but what Mike DeLiberato looks forward to during his annual trek to Bowers is a spicy burger and also hot pepper ice-cream, the latter of which is sold at the nearby Meadow View farm, where you can also pick your own vegetables.

DeLiberato said he noticed a number of young children sampling the peppery sauces, and was impressed by their ability to handle the hot food. But he said he's also hopeful that the festival, which started in 1996, will be something they can continue to attend for many years to come.

"So many of the things you enjoyed as a child aren't around anymore," he said. "I'm glad that this is still going, and getting bigger every year."

The thrill that people get from eating spicy food is similar to a rollercoaster, said Maggie Dilley, owner of Defcon Sauces.

When it first hits their tongue it's like the clickety-clack of the coaster going up the first steep hill, and then as the full flavor gradually hits, it's like that plunge down and race around the curves as they hang on for their lives, she said.

"It's such a natural rush," she said.

The most extreme examples of that, she said, will come during the annual International Death Match she'll sponsor and run at the New York City Hot Sauce Expo to be held in Secaucus, N.J. the weekend of Sept. 24.

There contestants can try wings including a tiny bit of an all-natural and potent pepper extract she makes as they compete to see who can handle it best.

That extract is not for the timid, she said.

"The endorphins kick in so much you don't know what your name is," she said.

Her sister-in-law Erin Davis put it another way.

"You can somehow hear the heat," she said.

Jonathan Mosebach of Bethlehem stopped by to ask about the extract, which he remembers trying about five years ago.

"That stuff is so, so good," he said. "I love it."

Defcon is based in New Providence, N.J., but Maggie and her husband John were well-known at the Bowers event, having been vendors there since about 2005.

John passed away shortly before the 2021 event, and Maggie and their family was determined to keep the business going, so they still set up their stand last year. As word spread among the vendors about the larger-than-life character John, whom they'd enjoyed talking to about the hot sauce business over the years, they took up a collection in his honor.

Davis, who was John's sister, said it shows what a tight-knit group the festival draws, vendors and visitors alike.

"It's a family," she said.

If you go

The 26th annual Chile Pepper Food Festival is being held Friday and Saturday from 9-6 at William Delong Park in Bowers.

No alcohol or pets are allowed to be brought in.

Admission is free, though a $4 donation is requested for parking.