Red or Hot, Spicy or Fruity…all flavors of home-made salsa are eligible for entry into the Great Oxnard Salsa Challenge 2009 on Sunday July 26, at the 16th Annual Oxnard Salsa Festival.

This year’s recipe contest is guaranteed to be hotter and spicier than ever as amateur salsa makers vie for first place in six salsa categories: Best Red, Best Green, Best Fruit, Best Hot, Best Medium, and Best Mild -- as well as top honors and a $150 grand prize as the Judge’s Choice winner. Pre-registration is required for all contestants; the $25 entry fee includes an official Oxnard Salsa Festival t-shirt.

There is also a Professional Salsa Contest with awards in eight categories. Entry forms and information for both contests are available on-line at www.oxnardsalsafestival.com. Entries for the amateur contest are due by July 15th.

The amateur & professional recipe contests are just two of many attractions slated for this year’s 16th annual celebration of all things salsa – the food, the music, and the dance. Festival goers will relish the region’s top salsa and Latin jazz bands, spicy food vendors, salsas to sample and buy in the Salsa Tasting Tent, two beer gardens, tortilla art in the Kids’ Korner, and an array of vendors selling hand-crafted items and exotic imports.