Chilympiad facts for kids
The Chilympiad was a special event in Texas that happened every year from 1970 to 2002. It was a big competition where people cooked chili! The event started in San Marcos, Texas, at a place called Aquarena Springs.
In 1974, the Chilympiad moved to its permanent home at the Hays County Civic Center, also in San Marcos. The winners of this chili cook-off got to go to the World Championship Chili Cookoff in Terlingua, Texas.
Chilympiad Rules and Traditions
The rules for the Chilympiad were very simple. There were only two main rules:
- All chili had to be made from scratch right at the contest location.
- Women were not allowed to enter the contest as chefs.
Because of the second rule, another chili cook-off was created in Luckenbach, Texas. This new event was called "Hell Hath No Fury Like A Woman Scorned." Winners from this contest also got to go to the world championship cook-off.
The End of the Chilympiad
In 2001, the Chilympiad was planned for September 14 and 15. However, the September 11 attacks happened just before the event. These attacks greatly affected how many people came and participated. The event lost $30,000 that year.
Attendance got a bit better in 2002, but the Chilympiad still lost $19,000. Because of these financial losses, the Chilympiad was canceled for 2003. The group that organized the event, called the El Jefe Association, hoped to bring the festival back in 2004. Sadly, they could not recover from the money they had lost, and so the Chilympiad ended for good.
External links
- Chilympiad from the Handbook of Texas Online
