11/06/2025
This is a Round Top favorite event!!!!
🌶️ RTFL’s 21st Annual Chili Cook-Off is approx 75 days away! This year’s slogan “Freedom Never Tasted So Good” is our way of combining the annual chili cook-off with a celebration of our nation’s 250th birthday year!
Mark your calendar for Saturday, January 17, 2025 at 12:00 pm at the Round Top Rifle Hall. This event is family friendly with lots of yummy chili to enjoy, live music, games and crafts for your little chili eaters, a live auction of incredible items, and so much more. Everyone’s favorite, The Black Cat Choir, will delight us with their great music and there truly is something for everyone at this cookoff! Tickets are only $12 per person (children under 12 get in free).
Hey - let’s not forget the incredible, and highly competitive, Chili Cook-Off Competition! Last year we had almost 25 cooking teams vying for the honors of Best Chili in the Traditional and Open Divisions! So … if you want to cook, get ready to sign up! Registration opens up on Tuesday, November 4th starting at 10:00 am.
The first five teams to register get to choose tent placement at the cook-off venue, based on order of when applications are received. The fee to enter the competition is $150 for teams competing in the Traditional Division and $125 for teams competing in the Open Division. There is no size limit for cooking teams.
This year we have something really fun to make the competition more interesting - Prize Money!
$1,000 for First Place in Traditional Chili Division
$500 for First Place in Open Chili Division
Go to www.ilovetoread.org and under Events you will find a new page dedicated to all things 2026 Chili Cook-Off. We have details on sponsorship opportunities, new judging criteria, the categories in which you can compete, forms to fill out if you want to compete, and so much more. Be sure to check the Q&A section where we hope we’ve provided everything you need to know!
Mark down the date and start thinking about your chili cooking team, your booth decorations and all the details that make the day so much fun! All proceeds of the Chili Cook-Off help fund RTFL’s annual operations and enable us to offer our programs free of charge! 🌶️