The first ever Colorado Pizza Festival was in Longmont on Saturday. The event let locals grab some cheesy goodness while supporting a good cause. Thousands wound around the block to get in after the festival opened at 1 p.m.
Chef Nick Swanson of Urban Field Pizza teamed up with the owners and operators of two other local pizzerias – Rosalee’s and Antonio’s – to form Pizza With A Purpose, partially in response to uncertainty surrounding SNAP and other aid programs.
Each of the more than 20 participating pizzerias offered a cheese pizza and a speciality option. Every booth had lines stretching down the street. Organizers originally planned for 3,000 attendees and ended up selling 7,000 tickets due to last-minute purchases and walk-ups.
In another section of the festival, amateur pizza makers threw down on who had the best cheese slice. Attendees flooded the area where they were working, hoping to snag a slice not reserved for the judges. Among that crowd were Chris McDonald and his mom, Petra McDonald.
“I knew this was going to be busy,” Chris said. “I heard about it on Instagram, and then my mom mentioned it to me. I was like, ‘All right, that’s reaching a non-Instagram demographic.’”…