The 3rd Annual Colexico Experience Spaghetti & Westerns Festival will return to Northern New Mexico and Southern Colorado this fall.

Spaghetti & Westerns Fest is a weekend of Western films, spaghetti dinners, cowboy poetry, interstate train excursions and honky-tonk music in the "Rocky Mountain Land of Enchantment" and it will take place on October 13 & 14, 2023 between Trinidad, CO and Raton, NM.

2022 Spaghetti & Westerns Fest

Filmmakers may submit their Western films of any length on the festival's FilmFreeway page and winning films will be screened during the two-day event in addition to two curated classic cinema selections. This year's Spaghetti Western is "The Mercenary" (1968) and Enigmatic Western Grindhouse is "The Villain" (1979).

Submissions are open until September 15th, 2023. Two international selections have been announced, "MÃtalos y no vuelvas sola" (Kill Them All and Don't Come Back Alone) and "Unos tragos de mÃs" (A Few More Drinks). Submission fees will be waived for Colorado and New Mexico films until September 1st, 2023.

The event will kick off with a pasta party and sauce-off at the A.R. Mitchell Museum of Western Art in Trinidad, Colorado on the evening of Friday, October 13th where guests will be met with a mountain of spaghetti and pots of sauce provided by local eateries who will go head-to-head to see who can dish the best sauce north of the Raton Pass. Patrons will be serenaded by the "beautiful" sound of country/western karaoke while they slurp noodles and drink refreshing libations, gander at tantalizing art and enjoy good company.

2022 Spaghetti & Westerns Fest Highlights

Dinner will be followed by the Enigmatic Western Grindhouse, a film and comedy event where some of the nations top comedians will join our audience for the screening of a really bad western film and be asked to tear that film apart for the comic enjoyment of our festival goers.

Later that night we'll be Honking and Tonking the night away with live country/western music and dancing at the Trinidad Lounge.

The next day, Saturday, October 14th, those "on board" for The Chief Experience, will meet at the Trinidad Train Platform Saturday morning to depart Colorado for the Land of Enchantment. This hour long train ride will offer scenic views, live on-board entertainment, and a wonderful chance to meet and mingle with other weekend Colexicans.

Once the train arrives in Raton, the projectors will fire up in the historic Shuler Theater, where festival goers will spend the day watching Western films from New Mexico, Colorado and beyond. These screening events will be broken up with an hour long lunch break. After all the movies have been shown, our "Colexicans" will be asked to meet at Gate City Craft Bar (across the street from the Raton Train Depot) for craft cocktails and western trivia while they await their return train to Trinidad.

Colexicans enjoying the El Raton Theatre film showing in Raton.

On Saturday night, festival goers are encouraged to go eat at local restaurants and eateries, perhaps further exploring the menu of the restaurant who concocted their favorite spaghetti sauce from the night before.

Dinner will be followed by more fun activities, including The Queens of Colexico (Western Drag Show) and another night of Honking and Tonking to country/western music at the Trinidad Lounge.

To purchase tickets, go to spaghettiandwesterns.com