Various vendors from across the Tri-State area set up cooking tents the morning of Saturday, Sept. 27, kicking off a full day of food, drinks, activities and live music for the 42nd annual West Virginia Chili Fest.
Festival-goers could purchase chili-sampling tickets for one dollar, with the proceeds going to the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Huntington. The charity provides hotel-style housing for families that have someone under the age of 21 dealing with serious illness or injury.
The charity is located behind Cabell Huntington Hospital, providing close access to medical care, and it also has a program named “Meals that Mend,” which provides hot meals to families in need.
Megan Evans, the director of development for the Huntington charity, said “(Chili Fest) is our biggest fundraiser of the year. It helps cover the cost of housing and food, so that families can stay at the house for free.”
There were three categories of chili at the festival: traditional red, chili verde and homestyle. Vendors had the choice to make just one of the types, two of them or even all three.
One tent at the fest was titled “Carl’s Head Banger Red Chili,” serving traditional red and homestyle chilies. Carl Stawicki has been competing in chili competitions for 15 years, including fests in Charleston and Wheeling, with the event being his third year at the Ronald McDonald fundraiser.
Carl said he liked the “big crowd” the festival draws in. From young children to teens and adults, the festival was bustling with excitement and eagerness to try every vendor’s recipe.
Another tent, Desperado Chili, had run out of chili in the middle of the day. Their recipe for traditional red included beef, steak, chorizo, bacon and other ingredients.
Marshall University alumnus Connie Reed was working at Desperado’s tent.
She said, “I love seeing people I haven’t seen in a long time, and also just seeing people smiling and having fun.”
The festival raised over $90,000 from chili sampling tickets and raffle tickets for a new Toyota RAV4 provided by Victory Toyota of Barboursville. The vendor that raised the most money was the Huntington Fire Department; they made over $5,000 in chili ticket sales.
At the end of the day, Ron Smith announced the winners for each type of chili.
He said, “Huntington should be proud of the turnout for this year’s chili fest.”
For the homestyle category, Larry Summey of Sum Time Chili won first place. Individual cook Kit Hoff won first place for not only chili verde, but also traditional red.
Other awards included People’s Choice and Best Youth Cook. Both Cabell County E.M.S. and CJ Hughes won the people’s choice award.
An 11-year-old named Vivian won the Best Youth Cook in the homestyle category, and she not only won $100 cash, but now also qualifies for the 2026 Chili World Championship.
Trophies were in the shape of chili peppers, colored in red, yellow and green, custom made by Blenko Glass Company in Milton, West Virginia.
Davina Snyder can be contacted at [email protected].
