The city of Amory hosts annual Chili Festival

MONROE COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI)- The city of Amory invited over 20 businesses to put their cooking skills to the test for the annual Chili Festival.

This is one of the few events to happen since the pandemic started.

While citizens are encouraged to fill their bellies with warm chili, it’s important to practice safety protocols.

Crockpots are on high, and chili is ready to be served.

“I think it’ll be a tough competition. We’ve won this competition a couple of times with different recipes so we’re confident we’ll be one of the top winners,” said Jack Campbell of Galloway-Chandler-McKinney Insurance.

Campbell says festival-goers will be pleased with his new recipe.

But, finding the perfect concoction didn’t come easy…

“The hamburger meat and the chili recipes, secret recipes might I add were all formulated and put into crockpot this morning,” said Campbell.

“I just did a couple of different ones and put them together. We did a test run last week and I found out something was not right. We put a little bit more in and I think today is going to be good,” said Trisha Foster.

A tasty recipe isn’t the only requirement this year, safety is also a concern.

“There is more than six feet, well over six feet between every booth,” said Main Street Director Alyssa Benedict.

Benedict says the festival is designed for crowds to stay to a minimum.

“We will have hand sanitizer that will be passed out. We have miniature hand sanitizers that the chamber has donated for us to give out at every booth. We’ll have more sanitizer stations set-up. It is more of a grab and go style. There will be lids on the chili cups. You grab your chili cup and then you move on,” said Benedict.

Despite some restrictions, board members decided to keep this event to help bring revenue to the city.

“We wanted to give our merchants an opportunity to invite people in their stores. The way we look at it, it’s that time of year and people are going to be out anyways. Why not give them a safe place to for them to come and be out and about,” said Benedict.

“I think it’s going to be a fun time for all the families to finally get out and enjoy something,” said Foster.

Dozens participated in the Chili Cook-Off.