This year's Blytheville Chili Cookoff is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 18, and Main Street Blytheville is encouraging people to sign up early, as the organization hopes to bring in record number at this year's event.
The annual all-day event, which is being organized by MSB with the help of the United Way of Greater Blytheville, will be arranged in similar fashion to years past, with chili booths and vendors lining Downtown Main Street. MSB board member Amber Abbott said the deadline to sign up for this year's Cookoff is Friday, Oct. 10, adding that arrangements are occasionally made to accept late registrations.
Chili team booths, information booths and craft booths are all $50, and separate food booths are $75.
Along with the chili competition, this year's event will again be the starting point for the annual Poker Run fundraiser.
The night before the Chili Cookoff, around dusk on Oct. 17, the Relay for Life will hold its Luminary Walk, which had to be canceled earlier this year because of inclement weather. MSB will also again be hosting Music on Main that Friday night. Details for that evening have not yet been set.
The following is the list of rules for the 2014 Chili Cookoff:
-- All applications must be filled out completely or they will be returned.
-- All fees must accompany the application form.
-- All spaces are assigned in advance on a first paid/first served basis.
-- Exhibitors are responsible for their own exhibits including tables, chairs, props and set-up.
-- Setup begins at 7 a.m. Oct. 18.
-- All vehicles must be off the streets by 8:30 a.m.
-- If electricity is required bring outdoor extension cords.
-- Do not store items on the sidewalks. All items must be kept near the booth.
-- Sidewalks must be kept clear at all times. Booth area cannot extend over onto the sidewalk.
-- Booths must be clean and trash free.
-- No drugs, drug paraphernalia, alcohol, knives or other weapons of any kind can be sold.
-- Non profit groups only.
-- Food booths must meet health department guidelines.
-- If a professional caterer is cooking for a non-profit, they must submit a copy of their health department inspection with the application.
-- Do no pour grease onto the ground or in the sewer drains.
-- All competition chili must be cooked on site. All chili must be cooked from scratch on site the day of the cook-off. All chili must be prepared in the open.
-- "Scratch" is defined as starting with raw meat. No marinating is allowed.
-- No fillers in chili -- beans, macaroni, rice, hominy or other similar ingredients are not permitted.
-- Sanitation -- Cooks are to prepare and cook chili in as sanitary a manner as possible.
-- Inspection of cooking conditions -- cooking conditions are subject to inspection by the head judge.
-- One chili per cook -- each head cook is responsible for preparing one pot of chili that he or she intends to be judged and turning in one judging cup from that pot. No more than one judging sample can be taken from any one pot.
-- Cooks must sign number slips -- Chili cooks must sign their secret number slips in ink with their first and last names at the time the cups are issued. Winners will not be eligible if their secret number slips are unsigned when presented. NOTE: Cooks must present their signed secret number to win.
-- Protect the judging cup -- Once judging cups have been issued, each head cook is responsible for his or her judging cup. Cooks must not remove or tamper with the numbers on the outside of the cups. Any marked or altered cup must be replaced prior to turn-in or it will be disqualified.
-- Filling cups -- Cups will be filled three-fourths full or to the level designated at the cooks' meeting.
-- Chili Turn-In -- Chili must be turned in at the Mississippi County Baptist Association building (next door to the Ritz) by noon.
-- Judging cups -- All cups must be identical in color, size and shape.
-- Preparation -- A duplicate set of numbers must be used. One half is to be concealed and affixed to the exterior of the judging cup. The second half is to be placed in the interior of the same cup and the lid replaced.
-- Do NOT keep the cups in numerical order.
-- Care will be taken by all cup handlers and cooks to avoid damaging cups and/or numbers.
-- Each chili cook must sign the secret number slip in ink with first and last name at the time the judging cup is issued and initial official Entrant List that cup was received.
-- Any cup that appears to have been marked or altered will be referred to the head judge for a ruling concerning disqualification.
-- If a cup is damaged, a replacement cup can be obtained from the head judge only after the head cook turns in the damaged cup and both numbers.
-- If a contestant loses a cup or number -- a new cup and number can be issued.
cpinkard@blythevillecourier.com