Cassville Chamber continues cook-off tradition
September 9, 2020
The Cassville Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors recently voted to continue with the tradition of it’s top festival, the Chili & Salsa Cook-Off. While the fall festival will continue, the venue has changed.
“We had a successful TroutFest in August, despite all odds. We see the want and need to have the Chili & Salsa Cook-Off in October. With that being said, our festival is always greatly attended, especially around the noon hour once chili tasting begins. We know physical distancing options will be very limited around the square, so we have decided to move the 2020 Chili & Salsa Cook-Off to the Cassville soccer field area near the Aquatic Park,” Board President Ben Lindley said.
“We have coordinated with the City of Cassville as well as the Cassville YMCA, and soccer games will not be played at our soccer fields on Saturday, October 24. We are working with Barry Electric to make sure there is additional electrical outlets for our cookers and vendors,” Lindley said. “This is an unusual year as everyone knows. The historic downtown area is the heart of Cassville and we are very aware of that. We know this is unfortunate for our businesses located on the square to move this year’s event, but our choices were very limited. The board agreed that for the event to still go on this year, it would have to be relocated to an area with over three acres of space.”
Chamber director Rachael Freeman stated, “The Chili & Salsa Cook-Off committee will follow Barry County guidelines and will continue to work with Barry County health and emergency management officials on a weekly basis. At this time, there is a masking order for Barry County for those who serve food. Our food and chili vendors will need to comply with our local masking ordinance.
“At this time, masks won’t be required of our festival goers or non-food vendors, but they will be welcomed. Just like the TroutFest, we will have hand sanitizer and hand-washing stations on site. We will also have reminders posted to encourage physical distancing,” said Freeman.
“We are excited to move forward with the Chili & Salsa Cook-Off. Our theme for this year was chosen in February by our committee which seems very fitting during our current situation. The theme is ‘The Great Outdoors,’” said Freeman.
Chamber members will be the first vendors able to sign up for the event. Vendor applications were available on Friday, September 4, and Chamber members’ forms started being accepted on Tuesday, September 8. All other vendor applications will be accepted beginning Monday, September 14.
“We had a successful TroutFest in August, despite all odds. We see the want and need to have the Chili & Salsa Cook-Off in October. With that being said, our festival is always greatly attended, especially around the noon hour once chili tasting begins. We know physical distancing options will be very limited around the square, so we have decided to move the 2020 Chili & Salsa Cook-Off to the Cassville soccer field area near the Aquatic Park,” Board President Ben Lindley said.
“We have coordinated with the City of Cassville as well as the Cassville YMCA, and soccer games will not be played at our soccer fields on Saturday, October 24. We are working with Barry Electric to make sure there is additional electrical outlets for our cookers and vendors,” Lindley said. “This is an unusual year as everyone knows. The historic downtown area is the heart of Cassville and we are very aware of that. We know this is unfortunate for our businesses located on the square to move this year’s event, but our choices were very limited. The board agreed that for the event to still go on this year, it would have to be relocated to an area with over three acres of space.”
Chamber director Rachael Freeman stated, “The Chili & Salsa Cook-Off committee will follow Barry County guidelines and will continue to work with Barry County health and emergency management officials on a weekly basis. At this time, there is a masking order for Barry County for those who serve food. Our food and chili vendors will need to comply with our local masking ordinance.
“At this time, masks won’t be required of our festival goers or non-food vendors, but they will be welcomed. Just like the TroutFest, we will have hand sanitizer and hand-washing stations on site. We will also have reminders posted to encourage physical distancing,” said Freeman.
“We are excited to move forward with the Chili & Salsa Cook-Off. Our theme for this year was chosen in February by our committee which seems very fitting during our current situation. The theme is ‘The Great Outdoors,’” said Freeman.
Chamber members will be the first vendors able to sign up for the event. Vendor applications were available on Friday, September 4, and Chamber members’ forms started being accepted on Tuesday, September 8. All other vendor applications will be accepted beginning Monday, September 14.
