TACO FESTIVAL!!!!!

The much awaited day finally came!

Then the rain clouds started to overcome Denver. While the storm clouds did keep the sun from scorching us, I was a little apprehensive. However, my friend and I went super excited to see what kind of tacos were available to eat.

After walking around a bit, like I always do, I settled on some Peruvian tacos.

One had Hawaiian salsa -- soooo good! Just the right about of kick too. I also order some tostones which are basically fried plantains with aioli sauce.

My friend ordered some nachos and man her plate was huge. She has no idea I took this picture, by the way.

I've been to the taco festival three years now and this one was a little disappointing. There were no dessert tacos!! I couldn't believe it. I wound up settling for shaved ice. It's been a really long time since I have eaten one of those. I didn't feel like having churros again because I had ordered them recently.

It was a fun day and it didn't rain while we were there, so that made me happy! The festival was a bit smaller than I remember, so that was also disappointing. The options were as vast as in previous years. The chihuahua race wasn't for another hour or so after we ate so we missed seeing that. However, we did see these little guys!

My stomach is full and happy. Maybe next years will exceed my expectations. I might try Tacolandia in August this year....all you can eat for $30. YUM!

Denver's BBQ Festival/Juneteenth

On Sunday, I decided I didn't want to miss the BBQ festival or Juneteenth, especially since I now know what Juneteenth means. I can't believe I was so clueless! My mom had told me last night that she has a cookbook from a Juneteenth celebration we apparently went to as kids. I have no recollection of this...at all.

At any rate, for those who don't know, Juneteenth is in celebration of freedom from slavery out West. Apparently, they didn't know they were free until two and a half years later. There is speculation as to why it took so long, maybe the soldiers who were supposed to come out here were killed or maybe the slavemasters knew but didn't tell their slaves. Who knows. There is more information found here.

I went to the Denver BBQ festival first. Most festivals around here are free to get in. There are a notable few that have a cost -- like the Taco Festival is $5. It was held outside the Mile High Stadium where the Broncos play. Football, if you didn't know. After walking around to see what was there, I ordered two barbacoa tacos on corn tortillas with lettuce, tomatoes and a green sauce (really good) for $14! Yes! $14! I almost went backward when the man behind the counter told me that. I was not happy.

After finishing those tacos in about a minute, I decided it wasn't worth staying any longer. So I went to get my bike to ride to the Juneteenth celebration which was downtown. Before I left, I noticed the dark clouds. Typically during the summer in Colorado, we will have afternoon thunderstorms. They don't last long and it's beautiful outside afterward. However, the storm did delay my journey to downtown. I stopped under a bridge for a bit to wait out the rain before continuing. On the bright side, I got to take some awesome pictures!

When I FINALLY reached downtown, it was crazy! So many people were at the celebration and of course, there were other festivals and events happening that weekend. It's always nice to be around fellow black and brown faces especially when you spend most of your working day with whites.

Juneteenth's options for food were abundant from traditional American festival food to African/Jamaican food. Every year, I get a funnel cake and kettle corn. I decided to postpone the kettle corn for another time. There will be plenty of opportunities to get it as the summer goes on.

Towards the end of the day, Ashanti, an older black RnB singer was supposed to perform at 7. I had waited towards the front of the croud for 20 minutes or so before someone decided to light up in front of me. One of the reasons why I don't like music festivals is because of this. I have no desire to inhale cigarette or weed. So I moved and then other people decided to do the same thing. By this point, we had all been waiting for her for 45 minutes. Some guy with a computer was playing some music but where in the world was Ashanti?

I ran into an old work friend and she too was a little annoyed waiting for the singer. So we walked around and decided to leave a little after 8pm. We have no idea if Ashanti decided to show up or not but we were done.

Overall, it was a fun and tiring day! Happy Juneteenth!

Happy Father's Day

Today, I was able to help out at my church by cooking some bacon and helping set up and serve the food to the men in our church! Since I had to work on Mother's Day, I am super pumped I got to do this today.

One of the ladies made us aprons to wear. So cute! (She's on the left in this photo). She is so talented with a needle. I, on the other hand, will poke every vein I have.

Like most church functions, we had so much food! So much goodness. I did, however, think it was weird to have cookies and cheesecake at a breakfast. Don't you think? I stuck with my eggs, sausage, hashbrowns, and fruit. I quickly became full so I didn't get seconds.

Overall, the Father's Day breakfast went very well! I don't know what the turnout is for Mother's Day usually but someone told me most people will go to church on Mother's Day but not on Father's Day. Personally, I think that's just wrong! You should go as often as you can but why isn't Father's Day appreciated as much as Mother's Day?

The sermon was, of course, centered on fathers but it was a reminder for us all that we all have a Father in heaven, regardless of if we had an earthly father or not. Fathers have an important duty as do mothers, but I do know from my own experience as well as listening to stories from friends/people I've worked with that when your own father does something to hurt you, that pain reflects on your relationship with the heavenly Father. You have a hard time trusting God because you can't trust your father. You have a hard time believing Him because your dad never came through on his promises. It's hard, but we have to realize that God isn't human. He doesn't make mistakes. Regardless of how we feel in any given moment doesn't mean He won't be there for us.

In today's world, there are many lazy men and those who just don't own up to their own mistakes. There are those who'd rather sleep around than raise a family. This doesn't mean all men are like that, but it does mean we need to pay attention and encourage them to be good, upstanding men. (I can't seem to find one! haha)

Food Truck Stop

I had the brilliant idea of going to the Food Truck Stop festival today! Even my roommate agreed! Not that she doesn't think I am on a regular basis.

Before moving to Colorado, I didn't really give food trucks much credit. I honestly thought they were sketchy. Boy, am I wrong!!!

This event was the bomb! They had at least 20 or more food trucks serving BBQ, tacos, ice cream, sushi, sandwiches, salads...HEAVEN! So much goodness, one has a hard time figuring out where to start!

After my roommate and her boyfriend left, I ran into an old friend of mine and we got to hang out for a bit eating cannolis! YEAH, MAN! Before that, we were wandering around looking at menus. I had had a pulled chicken sandwich with coleslaw (not pictured) then churros and cannolis! I also had some pizza fries....to be honest, I didn't really enjoy those. I prefer sweet potato fries which I shared with my roommate. She says they were the best she's ever had.

Overall, it was another great food festival and I look forward to the TACO FESTIVAL!

(Side note: The sky had decided to open up sending small, at least, sized hail just hours before. When I tried to bike to the festival via the Cherry Creek Trail, parts of it was flooded! At least three inches deep. Needless to say, my bike and I got a tad wet. I'm just glad my gears still work).