Chamber announces Halloween Carnival theme for Chili Cook Off
June 27, 2018
Charlea Estes-Jones
The Cassville Area Chamber of Commerce announced the theme of this year’s chili cook-off as Halloween Carnival this week. Committee members are hoping the theme encourages a lot of community participation and interaction at this year’s festival.
The chili cook-off committee saw the opportunity to tie Halloween and the fall festival together to be fun for both vendors and visitors this year. Rachael Freeman, Chamber Board and chili cook off committee member, said, “We are so excited about our theme this year, Halloween Carnival. So many possibilities for vendors and cookers to get creative with. We are asking our cookers to decorate their booth in a Halloween theme as well include some sort of carnival game the Cook-Off goers can enjoy.”
She added that the theme is a throwback to school carnivals that many in the area enjoyed in their youth. “When I was younger and went to Eunice Thomas Elementary, here in Cassville, my family attended the school carnival every year. It was a blast. Each classroom had a fun game, maybe ring toss, ping pong toss, balloon pop and of course the highlight of bringing home a gold fish.
“What that created was a fun, safe atmosphere of community and that’s really the backbone of this year’s theme.”
The chamber is encouraging each vendor to have a carnival game and dress up, but they are also encouraging guests and participants to dress up to make the event even more fun for the whole family. Freeman said the family-centric atmosphere will be translated into a change of performances, as well. Instead of musicians only at the event, they are planning to host a variety of local performers of all ages.
Freeman said, “We are actually going back to having presenters instead of live music this year. In the past, we’ve had local gymnasts, local kids in martial arts, local cheerleaders, square dancers, etc., perform during the Chili Cook Off and we are giving that another go this year. We want to showcase a broader range of our local talent while providing quality entertainment to the folks visiting Cassville during the Fall Festival.”
With the chili cook-off as one of the most popular events in Cassville each year, the committee hopes the theme will draw in even more visitors. She said, “We try to provide the best opportunity for our local businesses as well as vendors setting up around the square to make successful connections for the business or booth during the Chili Cook-Off. The best way the Chamber can do that is to design a way to draw customers in. By highlighting our local groups as well as providing a fun event for kids, we hope to bring in more people and more families from all over to experience what Cassville has to offer.”
This year, the chili cook-off will be on Saturday, October 27. The timing of the festival made it a logical choice to tie Halloween and the chili cook-off together. Freeman explained, “With Halloween being in the middle of the week and our cook-off being the last Saturday of October this year, we saw an opportunity to provide a Halloween event that families can attend on the weekend. As a parent myself, I know the amount of time, effort and money that can go into a costume. Sometimes it’s nice to be able to enjoy those efforts for more than one event.
“With that being said, for the safety of everyone who attends, we invite anyone who wants to dress up for the event but we ask that people refrain from wearing masks.”
As in year’s prior, there will be awards handed out to the booths for their chili, salsa and booth design. The committee expressed they know it will be hard to pick a most spirited booth with such a fun theme.
For more information or to register your booth for the chili cook-off, contact the Cassville Area Chamber of Commerce at (417) 847-2814.
Charlea Estes-Jones
The Cassville Area Chamber of Commerce announced the theme of this year’s chili cook-off as Halloween Carnival this week. Committee members are hoping the theme encourages a lot of community participation and interaction at this year’s festival.
The chili cook-off committee saw the opportunity to tie Halloween and the fall festival together to be fun for both vendors and visitors this year. Rachael Freeman, Chamber Board and chili cook off committee member, said, “We are so excited about our theme this year, Halloween Carnival. So many possibilities for vendors and cookers to get creative with. We are asking our cookers to decorate their booth in a Halloween theme as well include some sort of carnival game the Cook-Off goers can enjoy.”
She added that the theme is a throwback to school carnivals that many in the area enjoyed in their youth. “When I was younger and went to Eunice Thomas Elementary, here in Cassville, my family attended the school carnival every year. It was a blast. Each classroom had a fun game, maybe ring toss, ping pong toss, balloon pop and of course the highlight of bringing home a gold fish.
“What that created was a fun, safe atmosphere of community and that’s really the backbone of this year’s theme.”
The chamber is encouraging each vendor to have a carnival game and dress up, but they are also encouraging guests and participants to dress up to make the event even more fun for the whole family. Freeman said the family-centric atmosphere will be translated into a change of performances, as well. Instead of musicians only at the event, they are planning to host a variety of local performers of all ages.
Freeman said, “We are actually going back to having presenters instead of live music this year. In the past, we’ve had local gymnasts, local kids in martial arts, local cheerleaders, square dancers, etc., perform during the Chili Cook Off and we are giving that another go this year. We want to showcase a broader range of our local talent while providing quality entertainment to the folks visiting Cassville during the Fall Festival.”
With the chili cook-off as one of the most popular events in Cassville each year, the committee hopes the theme will draw in even more visitors. She said, “We try to provide the best opportunity for our local businesses as well as vendors setting up around the square to make successful connections for the business or booth during the Chili Cook-Off. The best way the Chamber can do that is to design a way to draw customers in. By highlighting our local groups as well as providing a fun event for kids, we hope to bring in more people and more families from all over to experience what Cassville has to offer.”
This year, the chili cook-off will be on Saturday, October 27. The timing of the festival made it a logical choice to tie Halloween and the chili cook-off together. Freeman explained, “With Halloween being in the middle of the week and our cook-off being the last Saturday of October this year, we saw an opportunity to provide a Halloween event that families can attend on the weekend. As a parent myself, I know the amount of time, effort and money that can go into a costume. Sometimes it’s nice to be able to enjoy those efforts for more than one event.
“With that being said, for the safety of everyone who attends, we invite anyone who wants to dress up for the event but we ask that people refrain from wearing masks.”
As in year’s prior, there will be awards handed out to the booths for their chili, salsa and booth design. The committee expressed they know it will be hard to pick a most spirited booth with such a fun theme.
For more information or to register your booth for the chili cook-off, contact the Cassville Area Chamber of Commerce at (417) 847-2814.