Let your taste buds prove their mettle by sampling the foods and sauces of about 250 exhibitors at this 15th annual celebration of hot stuff. Organized by capsicum expert Dave DeWitt (author of The Chile Pepper Encyclopedia, among many other peppery tomes), the Fiery Foods and Barbecue Show draws some 12,000 chile lovers and hot sauce professionals to the Albuquerque Convention Center for three days of tasting, talking, and cooking demonstrations by guest chefs. If you like spicy foods, then this is your one-stop festival.

"There is an astonishing variety of hot and spicy foods on display," reports DeWitt. And that's not to mention the clothing, posters, books, kitchen ware, and original art. Find out more online at www.fiery-foods.com.