Saturday, March 12 marked the third annual Winter Carnival and Chili Festival in the town of Middlebury. This year, over 3,500 people strolled down Main Street, 1,500 more individuals than last year. For three dollars, attendees could sample 85 different chilies from 54 vendors. Students and faculty from the College joined Vermont families, and together they selected their favorite recipes. Restaurants from 17 towns and three counties from across the state, Addison, Rutland and Chittenden, competed in what the Vermont Chamber of Commerce deems one of Vermont’s top 10 winter events.
Joe Colangelo, assistant town manager, was also the co-chair of the Chili Festival. He is a member on the board of the Better Middlebury Partnership, the organization that helped plan the day’s festivities.
“It [the Better Middlebury Partnership] works with businesses to make downtown a more lively place,” said Colangelo, who spoke with the town’s police department and emergency services to make sure downtown Middlebury could be closed off for the day.
This was the first year that the roads were shut down for the event, thanks to the new Cross Street Bridge. A beer tent, courtesy of Two Brothers Tavern, was open all afternoon. Children enjoyed a face-painting booth; police cruisers and fire trucks were on display. A cappella performances were complemented by two DJs, in addition to a flash dance mob in the center of Main Street.
“It should be great beer-drinking and chili-eating weather,” said Colangelo. “The event brings people to Middlebury that normally would not come here, and then they keep coming back. It is the chance to celebrate a nice town.”
Middlebury also changed the date of the Chili Festival so it did not interfere with Mardi Gras celebrations in Burlington, Vt.; the two events coincided last year, and the change allowed restaurants from Chittenden County to participate in the event.
“I think that now [the Chili Festival] is catching on and becoming an event that is getting not just local, but statewide and regional attention,” said Colangelo. “It draws a lot of positive vibes about Middlebury. It helps brand the town.”
There were 50 volunteers this year, many of whom were College students. Committees planned the event for the six months prior to the festival to ensure perfection.
“It really is a community event. The whole community deserves to be commended for putting something like this on,” said Colangelo.
There were five categories in which vendors could enter: beef, chicken, lamb, game and veggie. An overall winner was also selected at the day’s end. American Flatbread was the two-time defending champion, as it was the overall champion in both 2009 and 2010, but this year Costello’s stole the crown with their chocolate and red wine beef chili.
The Italian deli won the beef and pork categories, while Tourterelle of New Haven, Vt. captured the title for best chicken chili. Jessica’s Restaurant at the Swift House was proud to win the best game chili, as was Bar Antidote in Vergennes, Vt. for its best kitchen sink combination. The best veggie recipe was awarded to Inception Studios.
“The event ran beautifully and went off without a hitch,” said Holmes Jacobs, the owner of Two Brothers Tavern, who was also on the committee that organized all the vendors and the beverage tent in town. “We discovered ways to make it bigger, better and stronger next year too.”
Chili fest heats things up
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