Schedule
(go to Parking page)
Seventh Annual Big Chili Cook-Off Music and Arts Festival |
September
7, 2008
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Cook-Off Activity (September 7th) |
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7:00 - 11:00am |
Setup and Cooking Time (*open to official entrants only) |
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8am - 10:30am |
Artist Set-up |
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11 am - 5:00pm |
Art Show open to public inside Lake House |
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Noon - 3:30pm |
Silent Auction open to public inside Lake House |
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11 am - 5:00pm |
Rock n Roll All day long
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Noon - 3:30pm |
Chili Tasting and Judging |
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2:30 - 4:00pm |
Firefighter Skills Competition (click here) |
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4 pm |
Headline band plays the main stage |
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5 pm – 5:30 pm |
Awards |
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October 24 |
Official Big Chili Firefighter Check Presentation and Volunteer Recognition Party (details to follow) |
Ticket Sales and Information
Tickets will be sold in advance and at the door…. but watch out ….The Big Chili Cook-Off may sell-out due to capacity limits!
| Kids: | under 8 are free! |
| Bigger Kids: (everyone else) | $10 advance, $12 day of Cook-Off |
| Firefighters: (with Identification) | Free! |
2008 Big Chili Cook-Off layout map (Click Here)
Donations
All Proceeds to benefit Colorado Mountain Area Fire Districts. Expected beneficiaries are Evergreen, Elk Creek, Inter-Canyon, Indian Hills, Platte Canyon, and North Fork.
or make check payable to: “Big Chili Inc.” and mail to: c/o Big Chili, P.O. Box 3667, Evergreen, CO 80437
Big Chili History |
The First Annual - September 21, 2002 |
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The first Big Chili Cook-off and Music Festival was held at the Elks Lodge in Evergreen Colorado. The event brought in about 1,200 community area folks, 5 local area bands, 22 energetic cooks, numerous firefighters and 2 great big fire trucks. The idea for this fundraiser came as two of our board members who play in a band, scratched their heads one day and asked each other… "How can we get a gig together, something where we can have fun playing music . . . and maybe raise some money for a good cause?" This was during the summer of 2002 when the Colorado national forests were sustaining tremendous fire damage during the greatest drought in Colorado history. Among the individuals fighting the blaze at the front line were our local mountain area volunteer fire fighters. This group donates their time and their own money to become skilled and equipped to fight the greatest risk to our mountain area communities. In the summer of 2002, the Big Chili Cook-Off and Music Festival was born and is a tribute to these individuals. One thousand adults and kids came to the Evergreen Elks Lodge to sample among the 22 chili recipes and net proceeds raised came to $5,000 for our local volunteers. Photos from the 1st Annual Chili Cook-Off. |
The Second Annual - September 14, 2003 |
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Due to the popularity of the first annual cook-off and excitement that was
generated among
Like the first year, the second annual cook-off and music festival had numerous creative chili cooks, many local area bands, arts n' crafts… and of course our heroic fire fighters. It was a day chock filled with fun for adults and kids. The second annual cook-off and music festival saw 55 creative chili cooks, 6 local area bands, 22 artisans… and of course our heroic fire fighters. It was a day of fun for 2,800 adults and kids that came to sample the variety of chili concoctions, and net proceeds raised for our six volunteer fire departments was at $22,500! Photos from the 2nd annual Chili Cook-Off. |
| The Third Annual - September 12, 2004 |
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Photos from the 3rd annual Chili Cook-Off. Watch the 2004 event video (6.4 MB) |
| The Fourth Annual - September 11, 2005 |
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| The Fifth Annual - September 10, 2006 |
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| The Sixth Annual - September 9, 2007 |
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| The Seventh Annual - September 7, 2008 |
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numerous other folks who are expected to bring out their
favorite
chili recipes, the Second Annual was moved to the Evergreen
Lake House and
was held on September 14th, 2003. It became clear that this
event would be
bigger, with more chili cooks, more participants and more fun. In
addition, the
little group of mountain residents who organized and ran the first
annual event,
formed their own 501 (c) (3) charitable corporation called
"The Big Chili,
Inc.".... with its primary purpose to hold the annual Big Chili
Cook-Off and Music
Festival and raise funds for the mountain area volunteer fire
departments.
Like the second year, the cook-off and music festival was held at the Lake House and had numerous creative chili cooks, many local area bands, arts n' crafts… and of course our heroic fire fighters. It was again a day chock filled with fun for adults and kids. The third annual cook-off and music festival saw 62 creative green and red chili recipes, 30 artisans, 4 local area bands and "Opie Gone Bad" for the finale! and of course our heroic fire fighters. The third annual cook-off saw its largest crowd ever with a day of fun for almost 4,000 adults and kids that came to sample the variety of chili concoctions, and
net proceeds raised for our six volunteer fire departments was at $30,000!
This year was a very special year as the 4th annual cook-off was
held on 9-11 and there was a special heartfelt commemoration for those
who fell on 9-11-01. This was also a year of the first Mountain Area
Fire Department obstacle course challenge that provided a great display
of skills being tested by representatives of our volunteer fire force.
Platte Canyon took the honors as the first champion of this new event.
This was also the year that Big Chili held its first 
Golf Tournament and with over 128 golfers, it was a great time
and a great success for raising additional funds for our fire
departments. All in all, $46,000 was raised for our heroic volunteers
and over 5000 of our mountain community residents had a blast tasting
over 80 chili recipes, listening to 5 bands (including Opie Gone Bad
again!) and enjoying over 30 wonderful local artists!
This year had another great weather day and followed the same
formula from 2006. The Mountain Area
Fire Department obstacle course challenge that provided a great display
of skills being tested by representatives of our volunteer fire force
were joined by an impressive female contingent. The Big Chili Golf Tournament was sold in advance and $30,000 was raised for our heroic volunteers
and over 4000 of our mountain community residents had a blast tasting
over 60 chili recipes, listening to 5 bands and enjoying over 30 wonderful local artists!
This year the weather gods smiled on the Cook-Off! The Mountain Area
Fire Department obstacle course again challenged the
skills of our six volunteer fire forces. The Big Chili and money was raised for our heroic volunteers
and over 4000 of our mountain community residents had a blast tasting
over 60 chili recipes, listening to 5 bands and enjoying over 30 wonderful local artists!Tax Status
Non-Profit Corporation (501c3)
Venue
Evergreen Lake House Click for Directions
Privacy Policy
Big Chili, Inc. has a privacy policy concerning the treatment of non-public personal information of event participants including, but not limited to, chili cooks, sponsors, artisans and volunteers. Big Chili, Inc. does not disclose non-public personal information to nonaffiliated third parties unless otherwise required by law. Non-public personal information is generally information that personally identifies an individual or is information we obtain that is not otherwise available to the public.
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
Questions:
Q) How is your chili Cook-Off being judged?
Q) Is there "blind" judging by a panel of judges?
A) Judging will be done by approx 12 judges who have volunteered ahead of time. Cooks will be asked to submit a numbered sample of chili for blind judging. The judges will divide up the entries, pick entries to move onto a final round, where the winners of the red, green and firehouse chili will be selected.
Q) Is the judging for the top places different than "peoples choice"?
Q) How is the winner of peoples choice determined?
A) The People's Choice award will be give to the chili with the most votes cast by ticket holders. Everyone with a ticket in gets a ballot as they come through the door.
Q) What type/size of samples do you want the cooks to hand out to the public?
A) Cooks will be provided with 1 ounce plastic cups to serve chili to the public for the People's Choice award.
Q) Do you need volunteers
A) Yes, please click here to register as a volunteer!
Q) I am registered as a cook for this years cook off and was wondering if I need to buy tickets for me and my two helpers?
A) Each booth entry entitles you to two cooks tickets. Additional tickets for cooks are $10/ea. Tickets (including additional) will be sent to you with your Cook's Information Packet 2 weeks before the Cook-Off.
Q) Is there parking for the cooks or do we drive up drop our stuff off and then park somewhere else?
A) There is limited parking for cooks on-site. Cooks will be issued ONE (1) parking pass (included in your Cooks Packet), but all cooks will be allowed to drive up to there booths from 7:00am to 9:00am to unload and then move their vehicle to parking.
Q) I have already registered as a cook and I would like to do one green and one red. Can I change my mind and only pay an additional $10 since I have already paid?
A) You can enter another chili and just pay the difference.
Q) Why is there a $1.50 handling fee when I pay online?
A) You have the option to mail a check which would not require a handling fee. We spent many volunteer man hours and dollars this year to give Cooks, Vendors, Artists, and Sponsors the convenience to pay via credit card, saving you the hassle and cost mailing a check. The $1.50 handling fee per credit card transaction does not cover the actual cost Big Chili Inc. incurs for the shopping cart, web hosting, online gateway and Visa and MasterCard interchange fee.
