Fun and Flavor: Chilly at the Lodge Festivities

It was a cold and windy day, but that didn’t stop LEAP students from doing what they do: volunteering, having fun, and learning a little. Over the course of a thirty-hour period, students helped organizers of “Chilly at the Lodge” set up their two-day chili competition, did an afternoon tour of vendors and chili cooks, and also served as chili judges.

Chilly at the Lodge–Set Up

Chilly at the Lodge was founded to provide community fun, while also raising funds for the Josey Scout Lodge, one of a small number of Huntsville structures on the National Historic Register.

The more money the organizers save, the more funds can go to the good cause of maintaining the structure. Thus, LEAP students–Jacob Wessels, Luke Hempfling, Michelle Cardenas, and Brittlyn Jackson–found themselves on the grounds of the Lodge at 6:30am in 28-degree weather.

This early morning stint involved assisting cooks with moving equipment and items from their vehicles to the grounds.

The effort soon warmed us up, and the friendliness of the cooks enhanced the warmth further.

Following a short break to hear competition regulations from Don Cullum (a champion chili cook and one of the organizers of the tournament)…

…we continued our work helping vendors move their equipment to the grounds. In all, there were approximately 80 vendors and chili cooks.

We capped our 2.5-hour volunteer stint with a surprise tour of the grounds, led by Gene Roberts. This tour included a visit to the Caretaker’s Cabin, which not even Professor Yawn had seen! It was a fitting end to a rewarding morning.

Fun at the Chilly Fest

With a bit of a break in the morning, some of us returned with a new crew to enjoy the chili, the food, and the entertainment that is the hallmark of Chilly at the Lodge.

All of us–Victoria McClendon, Stephanie Fors, Mike Yawn, Gavin Dimen, Kayla Fleming, Michelle Cardenas, Isis Hollis, Allie Plunk, Robin Houghton, Marley Hendrix, and Nathan Barron–enjoyed the different vendors, with a special fondness for honey, baked items, and, for a couple of us, leather goods.

We also really enjoyed the music, especially the work of Steve Idlett, who performed a nice mix of music, including a “A Good Day to Die.”

But, of course, what we most enjoyed was the chili…

…(with the exception of Victoria, who, as a judge, could not interact with the cooks, lest she form opinions that might bias her “blind judgment” in the official contest). In all, we had about 80 samples of chili, trying almost all of them: the good (a lot), the bad (very few), and the chili with skittles (thankfully, only one).

When the day was over, we had a nice surprise, a tutorial from Don Cullum on how to cook chili, adding an educational flair to an afternoon of fun.

The Judging

The serious side of the chili contest is judging, and fortunately, you don’t have to be a chili expert to be a chili judge. This is a role LEAP Ambassadors have enjoyed for the past three years, and we continued the tradition this year.

Following a training by the ever-present Don Cullum, we began our judging process.

In all, we judged three categories: two rounds of Traditional Red and one round of Vegetarian. The Vegetarian was the easiest because there were only eight entrants, which means that a judge can get by with about 15 spoonfuls of chili.

The Traditional Red, however, had 18 entrants, which meant that, at a minimum, we were consuming at least one spoonful of a dozen and a half different bowls of chili. But this first foray into the chili tasting is really just to rule out bowls. A second round of tasting is necessary to taste the five or six bowls you think are in the running for first, second, or third place. And then, at least for some judges, a third round of tasting is needed to help suss out the top three in order. So, we had quite a lot of chili!

And this doesn’t even count the palate cleansers that are mandated between each sample–tortilla chips, sour cream, and water.

Of course, this is only part of the fun. While we were judging, we had a chance to run into some of our favorite people: Thomas Leeper, Dr. Gene Roberts, Mandy Dunbar, Judge Tracy Sorensen, Derrick Birdsall, Paul Trevino, and Jennifer Alexander, not to mention event organizer Karla Christian.

It was, in all, a wonderful way to spend a winter weekend in Huntsville, TX.