Wow! Didn't the Hillbillys support the 2003 Kena Chili Cookoff in style?! And didn't we have a lot of fun! We had a 21'x7'x8'-high display, complete with lights and all kinds of chili-related decorations; seven chili entries; at least 33 Hillbillys, their ladies, and relatives in attendance; and the C-Flat Band provided the music throughout the 3-hour affair Sunday afternoon, February 9, in the Kena main ballroom. The effort to setup our booth was a model of efficiency, coordination, and cooperation amongst the Hillbillys and the Hillbilly Ladies.
Ed provided the metal tubing to frame our well-decorated display booth, which included Ron Morris' cat holding a large Corona, the stuffed pig in the tub, several bales of hay (or were they straw?) brought all the way from Culpepper by Ron Hamilton, the two Hillbilly cows, strings of red lights, and numerous sacks of beans and smoked hams. Ten Kena units participated in the cookoff, most had three or four chili entries (we had seven!), about half used electricity, and our display WON the $75 first place prize in the Booth Display competition (the Klowns took second place, the Camel Herders third). Thanks to all who participated in the setup of the booth … it was clearly the best.
Our seven chili entries: Tim Butcher's recipe included pureed tomatoes, liquefied beans, ground beef, and sausage; Jesse and Patsy's was a hot spicy one; Ray Arthur reportedly made up his as he made it; Herb and Adrian's was a mildly-spicy beef and bean recipe; Pat Hillis' was a hot one; Ed and Frankie had two entries, one a vegetarian recipe, one a regular mild chili. And the Hollander's entry WON the $25 third place prize in the Best Chili competition (the Legion of Honor took second place, the Drum and Bugle Corps took first). Way to go Herb and Adrian! And thanks to the five or six Ladies who spent most of their day within the booth serving samples of chili.
Other Hillbillys joining in the fun afternoon included Tommie and Pat, Shorty and Mary Elizabeth, Skip and Joy, Grant and Katherine, Ron Hamilton and his EA-in-training son-in-law Ron, Rich and B'Linda, Jim and Mary, Jason and his dad John, Mike and Carolyn, Ladies Bonnie and Thelma, and of course, the C-Flat Band members Selma, Joe, Don, Al, Bill, and non-Hillbilly Tommie Chris.
