WEDNESDAY - MAR 18, 2009

Oak Glen Regional,

Saturday March 14^th

The community of Oak Glen, CA is best known for its apples and related products in the Fall of the year. The idea for a chili cookoff came about because the owners of Oak Tree Village wanted to have a special event in the Winter/Spring season for their loyal customers. Oak Glen is located in the San Bernardino mountains at about 5,000 feet. Although Bill and I knew better, we did not dress for the cooooooold morning temperatures, so we shivered for a while until the sun appeared and began to warm things up. Our hospitable hosts had provided plenty of hot coffee and some delicious apple pastries, which helped a lot.

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It was unfortunate that the date for this event conflicted with the great back-to-back cookoffs in Phoenix. It was also preceded by a week by a very well-publicized event in San Bernardino. Given that the Oak Glen cookoff came about at the last minute, it was not as well attended as it deserved to be. This is a wonderful place, with lots of atmosphere and local color. There were gunfighter shows going on all day and lots of craftsmen and vendors. Beautiful peafowl roamed freely throughout the grounds, sometimes startling us their cries of H - E - L - P!; at least that's what it sounded like. And no, Bill did not pull those feathers out of the peacock's tail---they were given to me by the proprietor of the snack bar, "The Dog House".

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It turned into a beautiful day with mild temperatures, an adequate and appreciative crowd to sample the People's Choice chili, and great cameraderie and friendship among the cooks. We were entertained by a very good 3-man band, who played a versatile assortment of country, oldies, soft rock and anything that was requested by the public. All three of the musicians had good voices and lots of personality. The band was one of the highlights of the day for us. The winners have already been reported, but, if you missed them, they were:

People's Choice Chili:

Bill Ray, who won a 3-way tie with Ron Harris and Steve Crawford by virtue of a last-minute ballot

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Salsa:

3rd, Armando Sanchez

2nd, Maggie Harris

1st, Sylvia Steinberg

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Chili Verde:

3rd, Ray Calderon

2nd, Geraldine Villalpando

1st, Jim Stoddard, completing his Hat Trick

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Traditional Red Chili:

5th, Geraldine Villalpando

4th, Armando Sanchez

3rd, Bill Ray

2nd, Steve Crawford, who tied with Bill and won the tiebreaker

1st, Barry Steinberg, advancing to the World's Championship after missing last year

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The owners of Oak Tree Village have declared that they want to continue this event. Care will be taken to avoid conflicts next year. Watch for the date; this is a unique cookoff and well worth attending.

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Submitted by Karen Ray

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IDAHO STATE CHILI CHAMPIONSHIP
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This event has a new DATE, new LOCATION, and new CONTACT PERSON.
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The Idaho State Chili Championship will be held on FRIDAY, July 10, 2009 in Downtown Nampa, Idaho which is a hop, skip, and a jump from Boise, the state capital. The Nampa Lions will be organizing the event for 2009. The contact person is Jonette Flores. She can be reached at (208) 465-6666 Ext 1365.
Her e-mail address is jonettef@premieralliance.net.
The Idaho State Championship Chili Cookoff will be in conjunction with The reasure Valley's longest and biggest festival Snake River Dayz. You won't want to miss "Hot Chili Nights" on Friday, July 10th with superb Chili Tasting, a Street Dance, Miss Rodeo Idaho Kidz Rodeo with Free Ice Cream, Goody Bags and Balloons and a carnival! More information will be following forthwith.
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