Fort Morgan Hispanic Heritage Celebration

Glenn Miller Park, at 414 Main Street in Fort Morgan, has a bandshell, a gazebo, a playground and tables. For one Saturday in late September the Fort Morgan Area Chamber of Commerce fills it with food trucks, booths, a beer garden and a stage program that runs from noon to 10 p.m. The Hispanic Heritage Celebration is free and open to the public. The Chamber, which says it has worked for Fort Morgan’s business community for over one hundred years, runs it from a booth of its own in the park.

The 2026 celebration, on Saturday, September 26, was set to open at noon with a flag ceremony. Leticia Morales, the Chamber’s executive director, told the Fort Morgan Times that consulates representing Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala had been invited. The ceremony was to include the United States national anthem along with the anthems of the participating countries. The consulates were to supply their own flags, and traditional state flags from Mexico were to be displayed with them.

Salsa at noon, lotería at five

The salsa tasting follows the flags. Entries must be homemade and may take any flavor profile. Each is labeled with its heat level and with whether it contains nuts. The entry form is printed in English and Spanish and offers three grades of heat: mild, medium, hot; poco, medio, picoso. It asks entrants to keep their names out of the description. From 12:30 to 3 p.m. the public samples the entries and votes, and the 2026 winner was to be announced at 3:10. Morales said the 2025 voting had been close enough that the Chamber would recognize both first and second place in 2026. The Chamber’s own page lists a third-place prize as well: two admissions and a couples combo at the Cover 4 Theatre. First place carried a Les Schwab gift certificate for an oil change up to $200 and a winter travel kit.

At 2:30 p.m. comes the cultural fashion show. The public is invited to wear traditional attire that represents their heritage. Dolores Del Campo coordinates the presentation and gives information about the states and regions represented.

At 5 p.m. the salsa booth becomes a lotería hall. The Times describes lotería as a traditional Mexican game similar to bingo, and it is played for prizes.

The bandshell and the grito

A DJ, zweiXx, plays throughout the day between live sets. The 2026 schedule opened at 12:30 p.m. with the Netkli Folkloric Dance Group and Mariachi Tradicional de México, which the Chamber listed until 2 p.m. Nuevo Concepto played from 3:15 to 4:15, and the Netkli dancers returned at 4:15. Los Jerchiz played from 6 to 7:30, and Los Amos de la Sierra closed the night from 8 to 10.

The grito contest was set for 7:30 p.m. A grito, in the Times’s definition, is a celebratory yell common in many Hispanic cultures. Entry is free, and contestants sign up at the Chamber booth during the day. The Chamber Director introduces each contestant to the audience. Each then takes the main-stage microphone in turn to deliver, in the Chamber’s words, “their best, most authentic, and powerful grito.” The contestant drawing the loudest cheer from the crowd wins. There is one category, so children and adults compete together. Second place in 2026 paid a $150 gift certificate from Las Vaqueritas. Third paid two entrances and a bucket of beer from Eranisol / La Patrona.

Pupusas, birria grilled cheese and a mechanical bull

The 2026 vendor roster ran to more than a dozen food stands. Taqueria La Nortena sold tacos, tortas, hamburguesas, quesabirrias and aguas frescas. Birria Los Homies offered quesabirrias, a birria grilled cheese and street tacos. Pupuseria El Amanecer made pupusas and antojitos. Munch-N-Glow had elotes, flautas and guaraches, and Korean Quetzal had corndogs, tortas and asada fries. Chapo’s Tacos, El Tacolgando and Salinas Mexican Food 2 LLC also served Mexican food. Ruff’s Lemonade poured lemonades, limeades, orangeades and agua mineral.

For sweets there was KE Dulce, with postres y bebidas, and La Frutería Melissa, with shaved ice, strawberries with cream and bolis. Saint Helena Prevencion y Rescate sold churros and raspados. High school groups kept tables too. FMHS LULAC sold Mexican snacks, and the FMHS cheer squad ran a funnel cake and baked good sale. The Brush High School Latino Leadership Club sold pens, keychains and plushies.

Among the craft tables, P.F.M Crafts carried handmade Mexican purses, mirrors, keychains and wallets and ran a charm bar. Tercos Wear sold western apparel, and Mary Mares sold glow toys and hats. Fort Morgan Forward surveyed fairgoers about the town’s future. On the park field, Putt & Jump On The Go set up bounce houses and Romans Mechanical Entertainment ran a mechanical bull. One Morgan County painted faces, and Fort Morgan Youth Soccer kept a soccer net with prizes. Ashley Donez Photography ran a photobooth and printed the pictures on site.

From Charreada to celebration

The event began under another name. The Chamber Charreada, a first-time Chamber event, was held Saturday, September 28, 2024, in Glenn Miller Park to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month. DJ Francisco Garcia, in the Times’s phrase, “set the tone for the day.” La Rancherita, a singer from Denver, sang songs from many eras with a mariachi orchestra. Grupo La Vieja Escuela played norteñas, and ballet folklórico dancers took the stage. Girasol Huerta performed a horse dance in front of the bandshell. The finale was Banda La Esclusiva, and a dance contest was held during its set. Dallana Garcia won it and took home a Texana 3X Justin hat donated by Las Vaqueritas of Fort Morgan.

Food vendors had sold out by the night’s end. Residents, Chamber members and the Brush Chamber of Commerce donated their time. “We are thankful for our volunteers, sponsors and the many vendors in attendance,” said Chamber President Gloria Mosqueda, of Mosqueda Delicacies.

In 2025 the Chamber billed the event as its 2nd Annual Hispanic Heritage Celebration, “formerly known as the Chamber Charreada.” It was held Saturday, September 27. Dolores Campos brought her ballet folklórico dancers, and a mariachi group played alongside three bands, one local and two visiting. Salsa was judged in the early afternoon for a prize from Tierra Luna Mercantile. “If anybody has this amazing salsa they want to enter, they can just show up that day or call us,” Morales said beforehand. The Chamber prepared for about 10 entries and received 19. The grito contest that evening, decided by audience applause, drew 20 to 25 voices.