Chili fans, prepare yourselves. This Friday, the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFROTC) will spice things up with their fourth annual AFROTC Chili Cook Off 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the Kirby Rafters. There have been around 20 chilies entered into the competition so far. People attending the event will be able to sample all the chilies in 2-oz cups and can try larger portions of the chilies they really liked.
There is a $4 fee to get into the event. There will be a raffle to win a variety of prizes, including Super One and Grandma’s Restaurant gift cards, as well as UMD merchandise. The cost of the raffle tickets had yet to be determined.
While the event is in its fourth year, this is only the second time the chili madness was open to the rest of the campus. Last year was the first year that AFROTC opened up the event to faculty and staff.
“We had about 80 people show up (last year) that were not ROTC,” said Cadet Lauren Novak, who helped put on the event. “We’re hoping we have more people this year.”
Three judges will choose the top three chilies and declare the winners. Along with all the bragging rights over the 17 lesser chilies, the winners will win a share of the various prizes available.
This year’s judges are Chancellor Black; Vice Chancellor for Student Life Lisa Erwin; and Adam Clark, chief meteorologist from the Northland News Center.
All the proceeds from the event go the Sturdy Wings organization. Sturdy Wings is an organization at UMD that helps fund morale-boosting activities for cadets in the AFROTC. The organization pays for the activities through fundraising activities like the Chili Cook Off.
While some are cook off seasoned veterans, others are new to the scene.
“I’m excited to see what our new Lt. Colonel’s (Karl Fischbach) chili is like,” Novak said. “We haven’t had him participate before; he’s new to our campus.”
BY GRAHAM HAKALA hakal045@d.umn.edu