Over the long weekend, I knew I wanted to do something fun (besides just work, which is often the case).
I decided on the inaugural Colorado Pizza Festival in Longmont, held on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026, at 4th and Kimbark in Downtown Longmont.
I had a lazy morning and made the mistake of not eating before I left for the event. I figured I would just gorge on pizza and be fine.
When I arrived at 2:30 p.m., there was a line from the entrance that stretched down two and a half city blocks, wrapping around the Longmont Public Library.
Oh boy, this could take a minute to get in. Apparently, there were two other entrances, and according to the organizers, each saw equally long lines.
Not realizing I had to pre-purchase my ticket, folks in line were kind enough to let me step back in after buying it on my phone. Thank you, fellow pizza lovers.
There were 23 total pizzamakers including Urban Field Pizza & Market, Antonio’s Real New York Pizza, Rosalee’s Pizzeria, Slice House by Tony Gemignani, Audrey Jane’s Pizza Garage, GFL Pizza, Main Stage Brewing, CHAR Stone Fired Pizza, Rock City Pie and Ice, Abo’s Pizza, Infinitus Pie, Simply Pizza Truck & Catering, Joy Hill Pizza, Lina’s Pizza, Backyard Pizza, Postcard Pizza, Sexy Pizza, Pizzeria Leopold, Barchetta, Rock N Puck Pizza, Pala Nero Pizza, Ghost Box Pizza and Performance Foodservice.
There was all-day music lined up with Other Brothers, David Lawrence & The Spoonful and The Motet as the headliner.
With 95-degree weather and a very empty stomach, I was ready to put some food in my body. So I went to what appeared to be the main line. It was long, very long.
The first line took about 20 to 25 minutes. I finally arrived to some food. Granted, the slices were half-sized because that only made sense for a Pizza Festival, but as I began to proceed to the booth right next to it, I learned there was another line for it, also 20 minutes long.
My sister lives in Thailand, and I have been able to visit the beautiful land twice. But something I learned while there is that Thai people don’t necessarily queue the way we do in Western cultures. Going to the bathroom with eight stalls? Each has an individual line, rather than one line for the next available stall.
I quickly learned each booth had its own individual line. All in all, I tried eight pizzas, which took me three hours to complete. Because this was all for a worthy endeavor, to make sure all people can have access to food, I was not bothered. However, I do recommend the promoters abandon the individual queue system for a more methodical one.
The event opened at 1 p.m., but by noon, there were already long lines of people waiting to get in. (America loves her pizza.)
The organizers had sold 2,300 tickets in advance and expected attendance to land somewhere around 4,500, although they had scheduled security to accommodate more than 6,000 people. Within the first 45 minutes, ticket sales had already reached 4,000.
My best guesstimate of the crowd while I was there from 2:30 to 6:00 p.m. was 10,000. But Paul Nashak of Urban Field Pizza told me the final attendance was about 7,000. Those lines certainly felt like 10,000 people!
The event was wildly successful, sans the line situation. Maybe even more successful than the promoters, Pizza With Purpose, knew it would be. They have a message on their website addressing the challenges and are already working on ways to streamline the experience next year.
But rather than spend my time complaining about the lines, I want to show off the many pizzas I tried and tell you about the mission of this fabulous new event right here in our backyard. Pizza With Purpose, the philanthropic partnership of Urban Field Pizza, Rosalee’s Pizzeria and Antonio’s Real New York Pizza, created the Colorado Pizza Festival not just as a giant pizza-filled block party, but to help fight food insecurity. All proceeds benefit organizations doing that work, with this year’s beneficiaries including Slice Out Hunger, Longmont Food Rescue, Community Food Share and Colorado Friendship.
We are excited for the second annual Colorado Pizza Festival, complete with great pizza and new and improved queuing systems. I am confident next year will draw even more people in. Americans love their pizza, after all. They love it even more when it supports a worthy cause in the community.
Photo Gallery (I couldn’t capture every pizza, but I gave it a pretty good shot.)
Dining and Cooking