Tacotown is very excited to be competing in the 2006 Austin Chronicle Hot Sauce Festival - the largest hot sauce competition in the world! Vote for the tangy green serrano salsa they call “Chappy’s Elbo Green“. Mark your Calendars for next Sunday August 27th!

Musical Lineup:
NewBoy 11:00-11:30am
White Ghost Shivers Noon-1:00pm
Guy Forsyth 1:30-3:00pm
The Texas Sapphires 3:30-5:00pm

If You Wanna Beat the Heat this Summer Then You Gotta Eat the Heat: Join the Austin Chronicle for One of the World’s Largest Hot Sauce Festivals.

DON’T FORGET TO BRING YOUR TWO CANNED GOODS FOR THE CAPITAL AREA FOOD BANK OF TEXAS TO GAIN ADMITTANCE!!!

The Austin Chronicle Hot Sauce Festival, which began in 1990, has become the world’s largest, drawing as many as 15,000 spectators and more than 350 entries every year. This year the Austin Chronicle Hot Sauce Festival will take place on Sunday, August 27 at Waterloo Park in Austin, Texas.

In the sixteen years since its inception, what started out as a small contest with a few spectators has turned into one of Austin’s biggest and best-known annual parties. The event is a favorite among hot and spicy food lovers from all over the country. The Hot Sauce Festival serves as a major fundraiser for the Capital Area Food Bank of Texas. Last year’s Festival raised approximately $5,500 and over 17,500 lbs. of food in a six hour period.

The outstanding musical performances and culinary exhibitions are notable attractions, but the biggest draws are the salsas. More than one hundred gallons of hot sauce are consumed at the event every year. Area restaurants show off their hot and spicy foods at booths, and vendors from across the Southwest set up shop to sell hot and spicy cookbooks, fresh peppers, and chili pepper memorabilia.

The hot sauce contest has three levels of competition: individuals (homemade), restaurants, and commercial bottlers. This gives us a good chance to recognize salsas in a class by themselves. It also gives us a chance to consider salsas made fresh daily in restaurants apart from those made for grocery store shelves. The 2006 featured Hot Sauce Festival judges are some of the finest chefs in Texas!

To participate in the contest, download the entry form, fill it out, and check in at Waterloo Park between 10:30-11:30am on Sunday, Aug. 27, with two quarts of your best sauce. We’ll take it from there. Then join the rest of the crowd for plenty of salsa, great food, music, and the results.

For faster check-in the morning of the event, pre-register by sending the entry form & check or money order payable to The Austin Chronicle to: Hot Sauce Contest, Austin Chronicle, P.O. Box 49066, Austin, TX, 78765. Deadline for mail-in entry is Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2006.

If you any questions regarding the Hot Sauce Festival or participating in the event please contact Elizabeth Derczo.

Looking for a “hot” volunteer opportunity? Contact Jillian at hotsaucefest@yahoo.com.

Contact Erin Collier for all media inquiries.