CONFEDERATION PARK


CHILI COOK-OFF once again headlining Cornfest Friday


By Cole Parkinson Taber Times


The smell of chili will fill Confederation Park


air once again when the 2019 edition of Cornfest gets underway in August. The chili cook-off,named in memory of Kent


Moffit, a former branch manager of Scotiabank, goes on Cornfest Friday from 3-8 p.m. where a handful of different cooks will hope to walk out as winners. “It’s the same as prior years.The only thing that is different is they (the contestants) will not be able to drink alcohol.There won’t be any alcohol on-site, just because it is a family affair,” said Margaret Simmons of Scotiabank. Moffit originally started the chili cook-off tra- dition at Cornfest and subsequent branch man- agers have continued the tradition with the Moffit family and Scotiabank sponsorship. “It was a charity event and they held it every


year.After he passed away, it became the Kent Moffit Memorial Chili Cook-Off and Scotiabank sponsored it. Believe it or not, it has been 29 years now.That is quite a long time,”explained Simmons. People are encouraged to sample the various


chili after they are done with donations made to a charity of choice, with Scotiabank matching funds. “We match up to a maximum of $3,000 and


we put it back into the community through dif- ferent charitable organizations.We’ve given to the food bank and small groups like the Taber Arts and Crafts Society. Really all kinds of groups in the community that wouldn’t have a lot of funds available to them,”added Simmons. Overall, there is a maximum of 25 teams each


year and judges change each year with each having their preferences. Judges are also unaware of which team’s chili


they are tasting during the judgement period. “On average, for as long as I have been here, it


is quite well-received. Last year we had almost 20 teams participate and in previous years it has been between 15 and 20 teams. It’s a fun event and people come out and have fun.They cook and they’re looking for the bragging rights, that’s a big thing.They have fun but they take it pretty seriously,”continued Simmons. The passion brought by the contestants


doesn’t go unnoticed, either. With bragging rights up for grabs for the best


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chili,Simmons says there is plenty of playful chirps going back and forth between all con- testants. The charity aspect of the event is also a huge bonus as each contestant is there by choice and hoping to raise funds for community groups. “They put a lot into it and they come to do it on their own time with their own ingredients. We give them the supplies like cups and spoons and so on,”said Simmons.“When you think about it, they are doing it for charity and a lot of it is giving back.” With plenty of teams signed on, they are still


looking for a few teams to bust out their chef aprons to partake in the chili cook-off. “We’re looking forward to the event this year.


We don’t have a full set of participants yet but we’re really hoping to have that,”said Simmons. If you are interested in participating in this


year’s chili cook-off, contact the Taber Chamber to register at 403-223-2265.


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