Chili Cookoff Returns for 4th of July

Beans, chili powder and meat are just the first three ingredients in Palo Alto’s 4th of July recipe this year.

The annual Summer Festival & Chili Cook-off will return next Wednesday to Mitchell Park, where thousands of residents will converge to taste chili from more than 20 teams vying for top chef in a championship match.

The 31st annual event will also include music from the band Hitmen, line dancing by Hedy McAdams, DJ Joe Sheldon, children’s games including a bounce house, balloon art, and face painting, and food vendors.

The fun starts at 12 p.m. and runs until 5 p.m. Chili tasting begins at 1:30 p.m.

There is no charge for admission, and tasting kits will be available for sale for a nominal fee.

Mitchell Park is being impacted right now by construction of the library so parking will be limited. Biking and carpooling is strongly encouraged.

Offsite parking will be available at the Cubberley Community Center, 4000 Middlefield Road, a few blocks away. There will be a shuttle running between Cubberley and Mitchell Park throughout the duration of the event.

The City is reminding residents to bring a reusable water bottle to the event, as there will be no single-use plastic water bottles sold. The move is in keeping with the City’s Zero Waste policy, according to the City website. There will be commemorative Chili Cook Off stainless steel water bottles for sale for $5, and there will be free water fill-up stations at the event.

Event Schedule:

Noon
Festival Begins: Live Music, Tasting tickets on Sale, Kids Area and Food Booths Open, Beer & Margaritas on Sale.

1:30pm
Public Chili Tasting Begins

2pm
Judging Begins

3:30pm
People’s Choice & Youth Choice Voting Ends

3:45pm
Awards Ceremony

4pm
The Hitmen Final Set

This event is sponsored by the Palo Alto Weekly, Palo Alto Online, Palo Alto Recreation Foundation, Piazza’s Fine Food, Stanford Ticket Office, Armadillo Willy’s and Pizza My Heart.