Dilworth South End Chili Cook Off

What’s better than a fall festival featuring a chili contest and craft beer/​cider? I can’t say but this was a great way to spend a beautiful fall Sunday afternoon.
The festival benefits various charities and there’s a $ 10 admission that lets you sample all the chili you want. This year’s contest had local chefs and some of the breweries competing. There were chilis made with beef as you would expect but there were also other forms… vegetarian, chicken, lamb, pork (this is the south!), several vegetarian options and my favorite of the day was a swordfish/​pumpkin chili.
Local breweries represented were Sycamore, Triple C, D9, Lenny Boy and our first cidery, Red Clay.
There was musical entertainment, a bouncy house for the kids, various other vendors, and there was a raffle for various prizes.
Good event and great location for it.

As many of you know, I’m a fan of chili, and happy to attend an even such as this one whenever the opportunity presents itself. This particular event is a relative newcomer to the circuit, currently in its fifth year in 2014, but it’s doing fairly well.
Others, such as the one previously held down in Ballantyne, and the one done at the Dog House near the stadium seem to have gone belly-​up over the years, so maybe this will take their place long-​term.
Whatever the case, it was a good weekend for chili, what with the weather dropping down to near freezing in most parts of the area. Luckily, the clouds broke and revealed a beautiful day for tasting chili in the morning, which drew an excellent crowd for the afternoon.
There were a variety of chilis for tasting — some were vegetarian, some meat, and some that it was tough to tell just what was in them (I believe it was heard «that tastes like soap» after one sampling was heard).
Regardless, the interesting thing about this festival is the layout — currently in the parking lot at Aterhton Mill, you can actually wander around without even buying a ticket (though I suspect they encourage you to do so), and listen to music and mingle. If you want to taste chili, however, you’ll need a wristband. You also need tickets to drink, and some of the chilis are hot, so drinks may be a necessity. You can even bring your dog if you like — plenty were out, and not just those who needed adopting.
Definitely a good event, though organization was a bit scattered, especially in the earlier hours. Once they got going, things picked up (though crowds did as well!).