It’s almost time for one of the largest, if not the largest, Chili Cook Off in the world to take place at the Blanco County Fairgrounds, where men from Texas and beyond will compete to become the chili cooking champion. All the funds raised from this event are donated to local charities, making this extremely beneficial to Johnson City and Blanco County. Alan Dean estimated they have raised in excess of $65,000 for non-profits and local charities including 4H, Blanco County Youth Council, Fair Association and many more. The cook off is headed up by Alan, along with many others who donate a tremendous amount of their time to make this event so successful and give back to our community – our hat’s off to all you folks!

Stop by the fairgrounds on Friday night and enjoy the cooks’ preparation and entertaining tales. The public is invited to compete in a domino tournament slated to begin around 7 p.m. on Friday evening, March 30. If interested, contact Alan Dean at 512-657-2835. Also on Friday evening Ronnie Lett will be performing from 7 p.m. – 11 p.m. and a beer and wine tent will be on site to provide beverages at reasonable prices. The public is invited and there is no cover charge.

You’ll definitely want to come by on Saturday, where you can find plenty of unique items from our numerous vendor booths set up both inside and outside the Show Barn, along with visiting the cooks as they prepare their secret recipes for judging. You’ll find them extremely entertaining. There will also be food vendors and a beer booth on site for those of you wanting to wet your whistle or indulge in some delicious food choices. On Saturday evening Scooter Pearce will be performing from 7 p.m.-11p.m. and the beer and wine tent will again provide beverages at a reasonable cost. Combine this with no cover charge and you’ll find this is the place to be on Saturday evening. Along with the chili competition, there will be a business competition on Saturday as well, with judging to be by people’s choice, so be sure to look for friends and neighbors and cheer them on.

If you’re a business, this can mean additional business for you during the event that so graciously donates to our local charities-so show your support and stop by the Visitor Center and pick up a string of chili pepper lights to promote the Cook Off. We have them available on loan, so there’s no cost to you. Support this wonderful event and keep it at the Blanco County Fairgrounds. Other communities are competing vigorously to have this event moved to their area-show them that won’t be happening! Save the date and support this wonderful event.