On Thursday, for the first time ever, the annual Santa Clarita Valley Charity Chili Cook-Off had a spooky theme, with funds going toward charities benefitting kids and teens in the valley.
After being cancelled last year due to the pandemic, the SCV Charity Chili Cook-Off took place at the Hyatt Regency in Valencia on Thursday, Oct. 28 with proceeds going toward feedSCV and the William S. Hart (WiSH) Education Foundation.
“We were excited and scared and skeptical,” said Nicole Stinson, founder and chair of the fundraising event. “But we are super proud the event worked, and it looked like everyone was having a great time.”
During the cook-off, judges and attendees alike sampled chili from different booths under an outdoor tent.
Local cover artists “The G3 Band” provided live music, while a silent auction could be found indoors.
The funds raised for the WiSH foundation are set to go towards creating and maintaining mental health resources at William S. Hart Union High School District schools.
The feedSCV funds are slated to go toward the weekend backpack program, which provides elementary-school-aged kids identified as homeless with a backpack full of food on Fridays to keep them fed through the weekend.
The program currently serves three Newhall School District campuses.
“It’s important to me to help nonprofits,” Stinson said. “We want to give smaller charities donations and exposure.”
This year marks the eighth cook-off, featuring wine specialist Eve Bushman, journalist Austin Dave and actor Réal Andrews as judges.
The judges awarded Sonja Randall the prize for best chili, with Scott Hoolahan coming in second and Hannah Larsen taking third place.
Winners were also voted on by the people who attended the event. Scott Hoolahan came in first in the people’s choice category, with Kimberly Egan and Jason Jacobson taking second and third place respectively.
Wedemeyer Consulting, Inc. was given the award for the best-decorated booth.
Because of the supernatural time of year, this year’s cook-off also featured a costume competition, won by Patrick and Gloria Kenney.
“We just threw that in because of the Halloween theme,” Stinson said. “We loved it. It made the event lots of fun.”
In previous years, the SCV Charity Chili Cook-Off took place in the spring.
However, the pandemic gave organizers the opportunity to move it to the fall without either having a very brief or lengthy gap between two cook-offs.
“We actually are gonna start doing it on Halloween every year,” Stinson said. “We always wanted to start doing it in October, but we didn’t know how to change the dates. I think it’s a good time for a chili cook-off.”
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