The Holiday Chili Cook Off is back, looking for more chili teams

It's the most wonderful time of the year! That's right, the 18th Annual Tom Daniel Holiday Chili Cook Off is right around the corner. From 4:30-7:30 p.m. Nov. 22 in the Exchange Street Parking Plaza, the $5 all you can sample chili event will commence. The event will conclude with the switch flip on the thousands of lights that will decorate downtown throughout the holidays. Cook off tickets are available here, or they can be purchased at the gate.

After being sorely missed last year due to the pandemic cancelling it, the cook off is back, and coordinators are asking for more chili teams to sign up, trying their best traditional and non-traditional chili recipes for a chance to win trophies and cash prizes. There are currently only 12 teams who have entered, compared to the 36 teams the 2019 cook off saw.

A team has no minimum or maximum members, and can be either a business or just a group of people with one really scrumptious chili recipe. There is no entry fee, only a five gallon chili requirement. The deadline to enter is Nov. 15. For more information, contact Roxanne Butterfield at 501-538-4575, or Jess Elder at 501-655-1932. Rules and entry applications can be found below.

The Tom Daniel Holiday Chili Cook Off is a fundraising event to provide holiday lights in downtown Hot Springs, which has become one of the only local destinations to admire holiday lights since Garvan Woodland Gardens has halted its nighttime holiday light display* due to the pandemic.

*Garvan Woodland Gardens will do a daytime holiday "wonderland" display this year, from Nov. 20-Dec. 31. For more information, click here.

Cook Off Application

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Download • 145KB

Cook Off Rules

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Download • 38KB