Spicy festival wraps up for the year

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) - A spicy-flavored festival had a sweet ending Sunday with the owner reminiscing about the event’s beginnings.

The 17th annual Chili Pepper Festival held by Jolly Lane Greenhouse wrapped up and the owner was more than excited with the number of people that showed up to celebrate the festival this year. He says the idea started off as a small project to roast chili peppers for the community and now it’s turned into a full-fledged event that people plan their weekends around.

“You know it’s really rewarding and fun to hear that people that actually come up and say hey we really appreciate you doing this we look forward to it every year and we plan our weekend around it,” said Jolly Lane Greenhouse owner Tim Sime.

Sime added that while you can eat the peppers and get a blast of flavor from them; the best part is actually the slightly spicy and tangy smell from the peppers.

“The smell of the roasted chilies if you are familiar with it you know, if you’re not, you need to experience it because it just smells amazing,” said Sime.

The event returns next year around the same time, hopefully bringing the scent of roasted chili peppers into the air again.

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