Jon Johnson Photo/Gila Herald: SalsaFest Spicy 17 People’s and Judge’s Choice winner Doreen Grove holds up one of her checks next to her husband, Eddie, with presenters from CMI.
By Jon Johnson
SAFFORD – After months of planning and days of setup and follow-through, SalsaFest Spicy 17 is in the books as another successful Downtown festival.
Along with the legendary salsa, the event – which is also a Safford Lions Club fundraiser – featured various musical acts, a plethora of vendors of all types, art, food trucks, the annual car show, beer garden, and overall good vibes.
This year’s event drew a large crowd to Downtown Safford for the weekend, and the crowd numbers only increased through the festival’s culmination Saturday night.
On the “amateur” side, Doreen Grove (entry #75) was the big winner of the night taking not only the People’s Choice Award and $500 prize but also the Judge’s Choice Award and $1,000 prize as well.
“I’m surprised, very surprised,” Doreen told the Gila Herald. “Thank you to everybody.”
While Doreen professes to not know what makes her salsa so special, her husband Eddie believes it has something to do with the special wooden spoon she uses to stir the salsa.
Doreen, who sells her salsa as “Lara Grove Salsa”, said she was encouraged to enter the contest by some clients.
“So, we entered and decided let’s just try it and see what happens,” she said.
While she has been cooking for a long time, Doreen said she has only been working on perfecting her salsa for the past six months.
On the professional restaurant side, Isabel’s South of the Border ran away with the Best Restaurant Salsa, and Mechy’s took both Best Red Salsa and Best Green Salsa.
Other contest winners include Best Table Display to “The Hot Dogs, Halloween Display” by Chelsea Stephens and friends; Joel Burnett took first place in the car show, and Chelsea Sargent of the Trailhead Hideaway won for the Michelada Contest held Thursday night during the sponsor dinner.
While failure to get Visas caused Grupo Mexico Buena Vista del Cobre Cananea to bow out of the festival, local songbird Zaylie Windsor put in triple duty on the last day of the festival alone, doing an astounding three shows on Saturday. The group “Crossroads” featuring Raymond Gomez also took to the stage, and the Graham County Chamber of Commerce utilized the event to hold multiple ribbon cuttings.
And, of course, Mariachi Luz de Luna was on hand to help open the festival Friday night.
Small-town Americana was on full display through the various events and presentations throughout the festival. Saturday morning saw the return of “Leeloo” as champion in the Safford Lions Club Chihuahua Races. Co-owner Matthew Scott says the secret of their success is simple – Leeloo has imprinted on his wife, Adi, and his desire to return to her is what pushes them through the top.
“It was the love that this dog has for this woman right here,” Matthew Scott said. “I have never seen an attachment this strong in a dog on our own before.”
The Scotts plan on keeping their streak alive and hope to defend the title next year for the three-peat.
“Last year, we just showed up and said, ‘Why not? It might be fun.’ Now, it’s gotta be a yearly thing now, I guess, (and) keep defending the championship.”
Various local groups helped keep the party going through the day. Groups that gave performances include Pima High School Cheer, Gila Cheer, Zumba, Yoga, and Karate.
There were also a number of vendors spread throughout the area, including the addition of the courthouse lawn this year. Some of the vendor activities included a free art show and crafts.
Look for our SalsaFest Spicy 17 Photo Album on our Facebook Page.
