Chili-lovers in Southwest Florida can rejoice as a popular event that highlights the timeless dish is back in Cape Coral this weekend.
The SWFL Charities Foundation Chili Cook-Off returns to Club Square this Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m., where more than a dozen restaurants/individuals will rustle up their best version of the often individualized stew.
All proceeds from the event will benefit the Cape Coral VFW 8463 and Foster Village SWFL, a non-profit dedicated to supporting foster families and foster children locally.
“Our mission is to help people and foundations that are small, that always stay here local,” said one of the directors for SWFL Charities Foundation, Denise Wood. “Our goal is to help underprivileged families, children, seniors, veterans, and people in need. We try to reach out to as many people as we can, and all money raised goes to them. Our motto is ‘helping with heart.’”
Activities at the cook-off, which is in Club Square on the corner next to Rack’em Spirits & Times, include chili contests for both individuals and restaurants, raffles, crafts and arts vendors, and live music featuring Maggie Potts as the emcee, and “The DVS Band.”
There is some hardware up for grabs, as well as bragging rights, as more than a dozen individuals will put their chili to the tests. A panel of judges will award first-, second-, and third-place trophies. A group of restaurants will also participate, with one overall winner in that category.
Attendees can pay $2 per chili sample, with the opportunity to try all different types of flavors and concoctions.
“It’s professionally judged, so it’s fair,” Wood said. “We have a panel of individuals with professional backgrounds, including a chef and pit master. All three judges will score each chili individually, and the scores will be added up.”
Wood added they have a lot of vendors this year.
“We have a varied amount of vendors in all kinds of different items from homemade soap to the Blueberry Bunch Farm is going to be there,” she said. “It’s a day out to come enjoy the food and all the event has to offer, and it should be a great day.”
There will also be a large section for children at the event, thanks to work from Foster Village.
Foster Village SWFL, which aims to equip, connect, and advocate, recently marked the opening of its new Cape Coral HUB last October. The new location is the organization’s first in Lee County, as its Collier County location has served hundreds of families in just under two years of service.
Its resource center, at 1510 S.E. 41st Terrace, serves as a center of operations to assist children and families, both by providing a boutique shopping experience for children in a child-friendly, trauma-informed setting, and by offering a space where families can gather for fellowship, support, and encouragement through play days, workshops, and gatherings in a home-like environment. It’s also a place where the community can get plugged in on practical ways to provide tangible help to children in care, and families can come and receive the physical and emotional support desperately needed to continue caring for children.
Admission to the event is free. For more information, visit swflcharitiesfoundation.com.
Club Square is the area between Southeast 47th Terrace and Southeast 10th Place in downtown Cape Coral.
For more information on Foster Village SWFL, visit fostervillageswfl.org.
To reach CJ HADDAD, please email cjhaddad@breezenewspapers.com