“Last year, we had three participants make salsa, and maybe five tasters,” he said.

This year, there were 15 salsas — from sweet pineapple to spicy pepper — to choose from, and possibly 100 people stopped to try them, he said.

Among the contestants were people born in Iowa as well as those born in Mexico and El Salvador, he said.

“The thought is, we want to include diversity,” said Hernandez. “But ... this can be done anywhere. Salsa is universal.”

Organizers say they’ve heard nothing but positive reviews about having their event at BVC.

Of course, there are a few things some of the youngsters miss about hosting the expo outdoors, like bringing their tents and camping overnight right on site with bonfires and games, Swanson said. But the advantages of what he called “the nicest facility in Iowa” to hold an expo outweigh the loss of hauling their campers along to the expo.

“We miss that, but it’s definitely worth it,” he said.

Youth and adult board members will be able to breathe easier now that the 2008 expo ended Sunday.

But their break will only be so long; plans for Expo 2009 will start to be made in the next couple of months.

“In September, we’ll go through and see what we need to do different [and discuss] what people liked and what people didn’t like,” said Conrad.

Mark Newman can be reached at 683-5358 or by e-mail at mgnewman@mchsi.com.