The Cohuna Chilli Festival, run by the local progress association, will transform Garden Park into a hub of fiery flavours on Saturday, September 26, from 4pm.
The event promises live entertainment, free children’s activities and a diverse array of food offerings.
Festival committee member Tanya Harvey said the event was born from a desire to energise the community.
“We were looking for something to invigorate our area,” she said.
“We have the Cohuna Show, we have a few different events throughout the year, but we just needed something else that would bring people to the area that was a bit different.”
The festival will host 12 food vendors serving everything from mild to wild, alongside performances by local talents Rachel Warren from Cohuna and Georgina Bish from Echuca.
“Everyone pays to get a ticket to get into the event, which goes to running the event, but once they are in, all the kids’ entertainment and music is free,” Ms Harvey said.
Heat-seekers can test their tolerance in three spicy challenges.
“There is a chilli-eating competition, a hot wings competition and a novice hot wings competition for those who have been wanting to give it a crack, but are a bit concerned going up against those who have done it before,” Ms Harvey said.
The event's reputation has spread nationwide, drawing enthusiasts from as far as Western Australia.
“If we can get them to travel from the west coast just for a chilli festival, we are doing something right,” Ms Harvey said.
“At that time of year, people are up here anyway, because we are a bit of a tourist hotspot, and this gives them something else to do while they are here.”
The Cohuna Progress Association runs the bar, with proceeds supporting both the festival and the town’s New Year’s fireworks display, which Ms Harvey describes as “the most popular event and fireworks in our district by a long shot”.
The rain-or-shine event offers ample street parking around Garden Park.
For more information and tickets, search for ‘Cohuna Chilli Festival’ on Facebook.
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