32nd Annual Chili On the Comstock

To some, the first week in May usually represents Cinco De Mayo Festivities. To my family and I, it represents the Annual Chili Cook Off in Virginia City, NV. This festival packs big enough flavors and fun, yet is still small and quaint and lets you enjoy every piece of the Chili Cook Off puzzle.
Contestants come from all over, many local though, and offer you a taste of their carefully and artistically crafted chili. There is generally a Verde Chili, along with the traditional red chili. Now here’s a side note, Competition chili is very different from the chili you would make at home. Its not as thick and chunky, it has more liquid, and you are really judging the spice/​meat/​bean trio that each vendor has to offer. The chili is not overloaded with beans, its actually more soupy than anything.
The festival runs the whole weekend, Saturday and Sunday. If you are a local, then you know Virginia City usually shuts down around 5−6pm, so that is when you can expect to call it a day. The parking is tricky, there are only a few parking lots available and those usually fill up pretty fast. You will most likely have to find a spot on the street and walk.
Upon entering the gates, you decide what kind of taster you are. This will determine how many tickets you get for your best value. My husband and I always go for the «Daring Taster» which gives you 14 tickets for $ 10. And yes, we get 14 tickets each, I never was good with sharing!
Each vendor awaits your ticket and generously fills a 2 oz portion cup full of their chili for you to try. Oh, I almost forgot, DO NOT THROW AWAY YOUR SPOON! You also get a voting card, the «People’s Choice» card which at the end of indulging in chili madness, you give the vendor you thought had the best chili. Ok, back to the gig. So you walk down the rows and rows of vendors who are anxiously excited to explain their chili and why they believe it is the best. I saw everything from «Mad Cow» chili to «Fartless Chili», which of course I had to try. (Lets keep it real people, that is the only down side to eating 30 vendors worth of chili in the car ride home!)
There are also bounce houses and bouncing things for the kids to entertain themselves with, along with vendors who offer hand made crafts and jewelry. (A great way to get all your Christmas shopping done!)
After you have tasted all the different styles of Chili, you give your favorite vendor your people’s choice voting card and in the end, the one with the highest scores, and the most peoples choices, places in the contest and wins!
I highly recommend this Chili Cook Off. It’s great fun for the whole family, and allows you to experience the history the Comstock has to offer.