New chili champ crowned at fall festival and chili cook off

The Downtown LaGrange Fall Festival and Chili Cook Off was held on Saturday. Originally scheduled to be held on the square in downtown LaGrange, the festival was relocated to the Crescent Station due to inclement weather.

“ The Downtown LaGrange Development Authority is extremely thankful to Phillip Abbott for providing the Crescent Station venue as an alternate location due to the rainy weekend. It was the perfect place to hold this type of event and we were so grateful for the option to move to an indoor location at Crescent Station instead of cancelling it!” said Barbie Watts with DLDA. “ It was so exciting to see the community and vendors turn out for the return of this beloved event! The last Chili Cook Off was held pre pandemic in 2019!”

There were 40 vendors onsite. Each one with information on their business, some with games and candy for the kids and many of them with items for sale. There was even a lizard and snake for the children to see. Along with the vendors there were 6 food trucks.

The chili cook off judges were Janice Davidson, Spencer Ellen, Ashely Mayfield and Tara Ogletree. They did a blind taste test so they had no idea who’s chili was who’s.

There were 9 entries into the chili competition; LaGrange First United Methodist Church, This Is It, Brickhouse Grille, Nutwood Winery, Gardner Newman Middle School, Truist, Wesley Methodist Church, Jackson Services and Purple Haired Realtor (Kaley Hebert).

Nutwood Winery took home the Judge’s Choice award. Their meat and bean chili was served on top of a cinnamon bun.

Brickhouse Grille took home the People’s Choice award with 144 votes.

“I am absolutely thrilled with the turnout of the Fall Festival and Chili Cook Off! With the weather forecast calling for so much rain on Saturday, I was nervous it may affect attendance. However, the community showed up despite the rain and exceeded our expectations! The chili competitors worked hard leading up to the event to craft the perfect recipes with the goal of raising money for each of their respective charities. It is safe to say that their hard work and dedication paid off and they have certainly made a difference in our community. We are grateful to the community for coming out to spend their Saturday with us having fun, supporting local businesses, and tasting some great chili!” said Lily Hamilton with DLDA.

In total, $750 was raised for Hope Harbor from the Chili Cook Off.

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