The 13th Annual Great Downtown Ithaca Chili Cook-off & WinterFest is so close we can almost taste it! Come take part in this annual cure for the winter blahs down on the Ithaca Commons this UPDATE: THE EVENT HAS BEEN POSTPONED!
Due to dangerous high wind warnings for gusts up to 60 mph for Saturday, organizers have re-scheduled the event for Sunday, February 20th, 11:30 am to 4:00 pm.
We applaud the decision to keep people safe and keep chili festival fun. See you on Sunday!
It's the first big local food event of every year and 2011 is shaping up to be awesome.
We've already heard from organizers that they'll have 50 different chili recipes competing to be the best, including dozens of meat and vegetarian varieties, from over 30 restaurants.
If you want to sample these delicious chili varieties for yourself, you'll need to get yourself some Tasting Tickets:
Tickets to Taste are $5 for 5, $10 for 11, or VIP tickets are 10 for $20 (and you get a special VIP line at each booth). Each ticket gets you a 2-3oz sample of chili or a comparable sample of other items from wine to chocolate. Tickets are now available for advance purchase at Autumn Leaves Used Books, 115 The Commons; Collegetown Bagels, Downtown at 203 N. Aurora St; Collegetown Bagels, East Hill Plaza; Collegetown Bagels, Collegetown and at the Downtown Ithaca Alliance office in Center Ithaca. Buy yours now and skip the lines on Saturday!
And while Chili may be the main event, there will be plenty of other events going on all day to keep you warm and entertained until the judging is done - the Chili Idol Karaoke Contest, Guitar Hero competitions, plus lots of live music and live performers throughout the day. If you've never made it to the Chili Cook-Off before, listen to our past coverage of this event in Episode #3 of our podcast to get a good idea of what to expect. This year also brings the return of the new annual Chili Cook-Off Mustache Competition! Grow it, craft it or stick it on (ladies too!) and be spotted by the official Chili photographer for your chance at complimentary VIP chili tasting tickets and other prizes.
Click Here for a complete Schedule of Events and plan your day now. Events are scheduled from 11:30 am - 4:00 pm and the weather forecast looks sunny, so dress in layers, bring your friends and family and your favorite spoon, and get ready to enjoy some great eating from Ithaca's best chefs. You won't have another chance to sample this much food in one place... until next year!
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