CREDIT: DOWNTOWN KIWANIS CLUB
By Kate Irelan
The weather for the Downtown Kiwanis Club Chili & Soup Festival this Saturday is predicted to be in the lower 50s for this time-honored, affordable, fun-filled, and belly-filling time, with samples from 13 different contestants vying for a coveted first-place prize in either chili, soup, most enthusiastic, or best-decorated booth.
The festival was postponed from last weekend due to rain. Dana Hinshaw, Downtown Kiwanis Club Chili Fest coordinator said that three they originally had 16 teams last weekend, and three had to drop because they couldn’t reschedule. “But it’s hard to be mad about the rain,” said Hinshaw. “It’s not supposed to rain this time.”
The 13 teams will compete for first through third place in either chili or soup. People purchase a $6 ticket at the event to walk up and down Main Street and taste and judge. Children under 9 are free with a paying adult. Prizes are also given for the most enthusiastic and the best decorations.
“The Fire Department is pretty hard to beat,” said Hinshaw. “They bring their trucks and current and retired firefighters. They bring a big production and they take it pretty seriously. This year, they challenged the Hutchinson City Public Works in addition to their usual competitor, the Sherrif’s Department.” Other competitors include several downtown businesses, some banks, Salt City Brewery, APAC, and others.
Hinshaw said that the Kiwanis Club hopes that people will come out. She said, “It’s ideal chili weather. Put your hoodie on. People are excited about it. We love doing these fun things for our community. We love Hutch.”
The chili fest has been held for about 20 years in downtown, and organized by downtown Hutchinson businesses, and Hutch Rec. The Downtown Kiwanis took over the festival around 2015, according to Hinshaw.
Kiwanis treasurer Tim Eigsti said that the Downtown Kiwanis Club continued the chili fest as another way to fundraise for the variety of donations the club makes to youth through high school. “The Kiwanis gives scholarships to high school students, 280 Santa bags to Head Start, and donates to Healthy Families, Circles of Hope, and the soup kitchen, just to name a few,” said Eigsti.
The Kiwanis meet at the Hutch Community College Student Center on the first and third Friday of the month at 6:30 am and have breakfast and a meeting.
To learn more about the Downtown Kiwanis Club or about the Chili and Soup Festival, visit their Facebook page.