After its streak of 25 straight years was interrupted by the global COVID pandemic, The Great Chili Cook-Off returns to Charles City on Friday, April 5th. Organized by Main Street Charles City as a fun community event and program fundraiser, the Chili Cook-Off was last held in 2020 before the pandemic shut things down for a while.

This event features eight local "celebrity chefs", each making their own chili recipe, competing for the coveted "Golden Ladle" award and bragging rights. The public is invited to sample each of the chili concoctions between 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on April 5th at the Columbus Club and vote for their favorite. Each chili will be randomly numbered, so the public will not know who made which chili until the winner is announced at the end.

This year's theme is the "Comet Café Edition", featuring culinary students from the local high school's Comet Café class taught by instructor Cady Mead. Taking part in this year's competition are Charles City High School students Lukas Vance, Trevor Carolan, Chris Barritt, Clayton Wright, Makenna Baker-Neve, Connor Dietz, and the 2-person teams of Laurie Baking and Jazznee David, as well as Keenen Wiley and Jordan Young.

Tickets are $10 per person and will include chili samples, crackers, drink and dessert. Tickets will be available for purchase in advance from the Main Street Charles City office at 401 N. Main St., or at the door the day of the event while supplies last.

For more information, call (641) 228-2335 or email info@charlescitychamber.com