State Fair!

This week's "festival" in New Mexico is the State Fair, held in Albuquerque.  Naturally, there are the obligatory rides and games, along with a few unique ones:

flying skateboarders . . . 

a mariachi band (in their casual afternoon attire) . . .

a geezer band (ditto) . . . 

hot food . . .

junk food . . .

even one forlorn little kielbasa stand off in the corner, clearly out of its natural northeastern or midwestern U.S. habitat . . .

and . . . well . . . lots and lots of junk.

Fortunately, for those of us with more refined tastes, there were cultural elements, including some dramatic, beautiful native dancers.

But the main attraction for me was the annual Green Chile Cheeseburger Challenge:

What restaurant has the best green chile cheeseburger in New Mexico (or, perhaps, the world)?  Twelve outfits from around the state converged on the Fair to find out.

Each competitor put together their best creation . . .

and then rushed it to the judges' table, hot off the grill . . .

where it was photographed (there were points for presentation) . . .

quartered (one for each judge) . . .

                        served . . .

                                                                         probed . . .

                eaten . . .

            and rated.

Finally . . . a winner is crowned!  And here in the Land of Enchantment, it's front page news!

The winner:  Rockin' BZ Burgers from Alamagordo!  (about 250 miles from here)

Hungry for more?  Larger versions of these images (and more) are viewable at my website, Todos Juntos Photography.  Click here.

Enjoy!