Ithaca Chili Cook-Off Entries Open

In anticipation of the 13th Annual Great Downtown Ithaca Chili Cook-Off, the Downtown Ithaca Alliance (DIA) will begin selling tickets on February 9th at the following locations; Autumn Leaves Used Book Store, Collegetown Bagels (Collegetown and Downtown), the DIA office located in Center Ithaca at 171 E. State St. and on-line at downtownithaca.com. Tickets cost $5.00 for 5 Tickets and $10 for 11 Tickets. V.I.P. passes cost $20 for 10 tickets. The additional cost associated with the VIP ticket allows the patron access to a separate fast moving VIP line. In order to avoid waiting in long lines to purchase tickets, the DIA encourages attendees to purchase their tickets in advance. This year’s Cook-Off is set to take place on February 19th from 11:30 – 4:00pm and is shaping up to be one of the biggest on record with over 40 different chili varieties available for sampling. Among this year’s entries hoping to take home the famed Chili Trophy for best overall Chili are a Mako Shark Chili, an Alligator Chili, an Heirloom Pork Chili and an International Chili Society prize winning Chili that takes its flavor from Buffalo Chicken Wings. In addition to the numerous tasty and unique Chilis this year’s cook-off will feature a Chili Idol signing competition, an air guitar contest, the 2nd annual mustache competition and live DJ’s spinning from 11:30 – 4:00 courtesy of Red Bull. For more information and event details, please visit downtownithaca.com or call the DIA office at 607-277-8679.