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Home > Archive > Sep 7, 2006

By Charlie Roberts
For Dixie Weekly
On Saturday, Sept. 16, the first annual Chili Cookoff sponsored by Desert Springs Church will create a spicy stir with the community.

The event will run from noon to 3 p.m., and participants are welcome to start setting up by 7 a.m. in the Desert Springs Church parking lot at 291 E. 1400 South in St. George. All proceeds will benefit Dixie Care and Share. An entry fee of $20 is required from participating cookoff teams.

“Money from the entry fees will make up the top three prizes, meaning 50 percent of the proceeds will go to the first-prize winner, 30 percent will go for the second prize, and 20 percent will go to the third-place winner, " said Desert Springs Executive Chef Gary La Mar. "There will also be seven other fun prizes with categories like best booth, best dressed and best presentation.”

The awards are also divided into three groups: Judges’ Award, People's Choice Award and the Vendors’ Award. For the people's choice award, the public will be able to purchase packets with eight tasting tickets and two people’s choice voting tickets for $5. Tasting will take place from 1 to 3 p.m.

Desert Springs Staff Member Beverly Sands, who was a driving force in putting the cookoff together, said the Dixie Care and Share is the primary focus of the event.
  
“All the money spent on the tasting tickets and voting tickets will go to benefit Dixie Care and Share,” she said. 

In addition to having tasty chili sampling, Desert Springs pastor Tom Mertz said groups and businesses will participate in the event.

"Businesses like Segway Tours will not only show up with a couple Segway Scooters to show, but they will also compete in the cookoff,” he said. “KCSG Television and Cherry Creek Radio’s KONY Country, who will also be broadcasting live music, will be participating in the cookoff as well. This event provides an excellent platform for businesses to promote themselves and show the community they really care.”

Kids looking to have a good time apart from the chili contest will have plenty to enjoy, said La Mar. 

“For kids who might not like chili, there will be a small food booth selling cold drinks, hot dogs for 50 cents and hamburgers for $1.50 each, and the proceeds will go to Dixie Care and Share,” he said. “There will also be free balloons for the kids, and our city police and fire departments will be there as well.”

Mertz said kids from the Desert Springs Church will also participate in the Chili Cookoff.
"Our church's youth group will also be selling ice cream to raise money for the youth group,” he said.

The judges for the cookoff will be Washington City Mayor Terrill Clove; Hurricane Mayor Tom Hirschi; Brian Laos, executive chef for the Gun Barrel Restaurant; Randall Richards, owner and executive chef for the Painted Pony; and Kathryn Van Roosendaal, editor of St. George Magazine and features editor for the Spectrum.

All are invited to enter the cookoff contest. A registration packet can be obtained by contacting Gary La Mar at 627-9306 or lglamar@msn.com. The $20 entrance fee from the teams needs to be paid by Sept. 15.

The next big event sponsored by the Desert Springs Church will be the "40 Days of Community" donated food drive with indoor collection bins at Lin's, Smith's and Harmon's grocery stores in the area. The event will go from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. every Saturday from Sept. 23 through Oct. 21. All donated food will go to Dixie Care and Share.

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