Other folks might throw a party … but we are the party!
“Bigger and better. That’s the only way to describe this year’s event,” said Terry Short Jr., the organizer of the Virginia Chili, Blues n’ Brews Festival, which is back for a sixth year in Lumos Plaza in Downtown Waynesboro with a Saturday, Sept. 22 event featuring Grammy-nominated blues legend John Lee Hooker Jr. and local favorites Fatty Lumpkin & The Love Hogs, Pure Blind Luck and Full Circle, and Washington, D.C., band, CP Blues.
Hooker and the crew of musicians on hand will take care of the blues. More than $2,000 in prize money to chili chefs from around the country will bring the food. The brews will come in an assortment of carefully selected micro- and mega-brews.
More information about the Virginia Chili, Blues n’ Brews Festival is featured on a revamped Festival website – VirginiaChili.com – designed by Augusta Free Press LLC in Waynesboro.
The Festival is sponsored by the City of Waynesboro, Coors, Blue Ridge Beverage, Lumos Networks, Southern Stainless, Holiday Inn Express, and Sam’s Hot Dogs.
Proceeds from the event benefit Waynesboro Downtown Development Inc.
2012 brings back the Chili Cook-off as a “People’s Choice”-only competition.
“We anticipate nearly 3,000 attendees this year, which makes our event the perfect opportunity for chili chefs to show off their skills,” Short said.
The addition of Hooker to the music lineup is part of the effort by event organizers to raise the stakes for the Festival.
“Our approach to this year is, If you’ve been lucky enough to attend the first five … you ain’t seen nothin’ yet!” Short said.