CELEBRATING 55 YEARS | WHEAT RIDGE, COLORADO | Family Fun SINCE 1969

Colorado Honey Bee Festival 2023

NEW 2023 - Colorado Honey Festival is coming to the Wheat Ridge Carnation Festival!

We are excited to have the Colorado Honey Festival join us this year for bigger celebration.

The Colorado Honey Festival celebrates bees, beekeeping, pollinators of all kinds, and of course, honey!

Festival attendees can sample different kinds of local honey, listen to live music, and attend presentations. Throughout the festival, stop by the educational booths for fun activities for all ages.

Chili Cook Off

Chili Cook Off is Back!

Attention avid chili chefs and fans! Our Chili Cook-off is back this year on Saturday at 2:00pm.
Sign up to show off your favorite recipe - $10 registration per chili. (Sign up closes on Thursday, August 10)

- Saturday, August 12th from 2-5pm near the Main Stage.
- Red and green chili categories.
- Proceeds will be donated to a local cause (TBD)

Pancake Breakfast

Saturday (before the parade) from 7:00am to 9:30am at Grange Hall, 3850 High Ct. (behind Wheat Ridge Cyclery).
Breakfast includes ham, eggs, pancakes, coffee and juice. Donations encouraged.
Benefits the Grange Foundation.

Spaghetti Dinner

The famous spaghetti dinner, served by the West Metro Fire Rescue takes place on both Friday and Saturday nights from 4:30-8:00pm in the food court.
Cost is $14 for adults & $7 for kids under 12.

Pie Baking Contest

Pie Baking Contest

Is your pie the best in the city? This is your chance to bake what makes Wheat Ridge sweet! Sign up for the baking-off and compete for the Carnation Festival Blue Ribbon.

Bring Pies Saturday between 1:30 - 2:50 pm. Judging will start at 3:00 p.m. Winners will be announced at 3:30pm. Pie slices will be available to purchase from 4 p.m. until all pie is gone.

View Pie Contest official rules >>

The 2023 Pie Contest is sponsored by 5 Fridges Farm and Lutheran Medical Center!

Intermountain Healthcare - Lutheran Medical Center

Spaghetti, Wine, Beer & Pie Oh My!

Food choices will abound at the Wheat Ridge Carnation Festival.  In addition to the vendors on the festival grounds, there will be food events and tents for the whole family to enjoy.        

A traditional Spaghetti Dinner will be served both nights, August 11th and 12th. The dinner is the longest-lived event of the festival and is so big that it has its own tent. It will be served 4:30–8pm in the food court area, which is near the Beer Garden, so the two most popular food treats will be next to each other. (If you have any German heritage, you know that beer is considered a food for adults and is almost as necessary as bread.) The dinner benefits the Colorado Professional Firefighters Foundation, and two dozen volunteers from West Metro Fire Rescue will work in shifts to feed the crowds.

The Beer Garden, despite the name, will not be limited to beer and will offer a wide variety of beverages for the entire family. The Wheat Ridge Rotary Club has teamed up with Budweiser and Breckenridge Brewery to offer a great selection. This is the biggest major fundraising event for the Rotary Club each year. Funds raised at the festival will remain in the community by way of scholarships and funds for local non-profit organizations.

Another great Wheat Ridge tradition is the Pancake Breakfast held on Saturday morning before the Carnation Festival parade. The breakfast, 7-9:30 am, includes ham, eggs, pancakes, coffee and juice. There is no cost but a $8 donation per person is always welcome and greatly appreciated. The breakfast is a chance to meet and greet neighbors at the Wheat Ridge Grange Hall.  It is also the perfect time to view a fine historical building while filling up on carbs that will sustain you throughout the parade. Funds raised from the breakfast will help the Wheat Ridge Grange continue the exceptional work that it does with youth in the community.

To polish off the day, check out the Pie Competition.  At the previous year's event, competitors ranged from 16 to 90 years of age and all the pies were sweet/fruit pies.  This year, there will be two categories: 1) Dessert pie and 2) All-Colorado Dessert Pie, and extra judges have been invited to participate.  To compete for the blue ribbon please fill out the application below.  Bring pies to the food court main tent on Saturday, August 12th from 1:30-2:50 pm.  The public is invited to bid on the pies after the judging is complete.

Enter Homemade Pie Contest

Online application of the Homemade Pie Contest is closed. If you'd like to enter your home baked pie, please bring it to the Pie Contest tent at the Anderson Park on Saturday between 1:30 - 2:50 pm. Judging will start at 3:00 p.m.

Chili Cook-Off Entry Form

Chili Cook-off entry is closed.