For more information contact: Email:

Mark Nixon : 517-702-6735 MDN@LBWL.COM

13th annual BWL Chili Cook-off set for Friday the 13th of June.
Feel lucky?

The Lansing Board of Water & Light will host its 13 th annual BWL Chili Cook-off along Lansing's downtown riverfront on Friday, June 13 th .

Nearly 50 restaurants, organizations and amateur “chiliheads” will compete for trophies, while ladling out more than 1,600 gallons of chili to thousands of chili fans during the event, 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Wristbands are $5, allowing patrons to sample a veritable river of chili – all for a good cause.*

The theme of this year's chili cook-off is luck – both good and bad. The event will feature some interesting takes on fortune and misfortune. For instance:

•  If you were born on any Friday the 13 th , then June 13 th is your lucky day! That's because anyone born on any Friday the 13 th gets in free. Simply bring proof of your date of birth, such as a driver's license, to the BWL Chili Cook-off. Gate attendants will have “perpetual calendars” to confirm if Friday the 13 th is indeed your lucky day.

•  The chili cook-off will feature a “Good Luck/Bad Luck” booth where contestants can win prizes and answer trivia questions about superstitions.

•  Melting Moments Ice Cream has created two new flavors especially for the BWL Chili Cook-off. We invite you to savor the flavors of One Lucky Jolt and Superstitions Gone Nuts.

•  For the first time, a 50-50 Raffle will be held. One lucky patron will walk away with half of the ticket sales. The other half will be donated to area non-profits (see below).

 

For the first time since the BWL Chili Cook-off began 13 years ago, there will be an amateur competition. Twelve amateur “chiliheads” with their smokin' chili recipes will compete in a special amateur division. They will also be eligible for the People's Choice trophy, which is awarded based on balloting from chili cook-off patrons.

“With the addition of the amateur division, we're looking forward to some heated competition,” said Mark Nixon, BWL Communications Director. “We have added new features that should make this the biggest and best BWL Chili Cook-off yet.”

Among the new activities will be a children's play area with an obstacle course and a climbing wall. There will also be two live bands, the ever-popular mechanical bull, and plenty of cool refreshments to wash down all of that chili.

Back by popular demand: The Chili Express shuttle service. The free shuttle service, provided by sponsor Dean Transportation, will pick up patrons in the Union Missionary Baptist Church parking lot, 500 Martin Luther King Blvd., and deliver them to the cook-off entrance near the Lansing City Market.

The Chili Express runs from 4:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Celebrity chili judges will be: Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero, Lansing Police Chief Mark Alley, State Rep. Joan Bauer, Lansing Schools Superintendent Dr. T.C. Wallace, and radio personalities Rich Michaels and Walt Sorg.

Participants will compete in the following categories: Best Restaurant Chili, Best Corporate Chili, Best Salsa, Most Creative Chili Name, Mo' Hotter Mo' Better Hottest Chili, Most Creative Booth, Best Amateur Chili, Best Meatless Chili, Red Hot Hospitality and People's Choice Best Chili.

The BWL Chili Cook-off takes place along Lansing's River Trail between the Lansing Center and Lansing City Market.

Proceeds will benefit the Impression 5 Science Center, the Adopt A River program and the HOPE Scholarships Connections Program. For more information, visit www.bwlchilicookoff.com .

*Today, Champps Restaurant in the Eastwood Towne Center will donate 10 percent of its food sales to benefit charities designated by the BWL. Champps' “2008 Chili Kick-off” will run from 4 p.m. until 1 a.m. today, June 2.

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