The 17th annual Festival of the Bean cooks up chili and community

By October in North Carolina, the days of outdoor barbecues and iced lemonade are over. But, for the Blacknall Memorial Presbyterian Church, these days have been replaced by pots of steamy chili and stews.

The church hosted its 17th Annual Festival of the Bean, a chili cook-off, at the Forest Hills Park in Durham on Sunday.

Around 2:30 p.m., participants, chefs and judges began to show up, bringing their homemade chili and side dishes to set up tables. There was a tangible chill and hint of smokiness in the air.

“It’s such a lovely day to be here today,” Isela Coonley, a UNC first-year and a member of the church, said. 

She said that she has been coming to the festival almost every year. 

“Community is something that’s always been important to me, and all these people I’ve grown up around,” she said. "It’s just fun to come and spend some time with them all."

The Festival of the Bean began with the chili competition, where the judges got to taste every type of chili and select the winner. Then, it was the official meal time when everyone tried the various chilis and connected with one another. Afterward, there were s’mores on the grills and finally, they announced the winning chili. 

"The winners are friends Elisabeth and Anna, both 5th graders,” Stefanie Tokiyama, the chair of the Hospitality Committee at Blacknall Church, said in an email after the event. “They joined forces to create the winning chili named ‘A Smidge, A Pinch & A Dash'."

Picture a steaming bowl filled with a hearty chili that has a tantalizing blend of spices, smoked ground beef and beans.

"A Smidge, A Pinch & A Dash" resembles the classic tomato-based chili that everyone expects when they hear the word 'chili,' according to Sarah Lapp, one of the judges at the competition.

“It was a little bit on the sweet side,” Lapp said. "And I remember that it had ground beef, and it was really tender and flavorful."

Lapp also said that it was difficult to pick the best one out of 15 chilis. She said that she originally picked a different chili, but the judges came to a consensus to select a more 'classic' chili.

Tokiyama said that the Festival of the Bean is one of the two big events that the Blacknall Memorial Presbyterian Church hosts each year. The other event is a block party that takes place in the spring and is located right outside the church.  

“Our mission is to encourage fellowship and hospitality among the members of Blacknall, but also welcoming people who are not necessarily members but are coming as well, and just really wanting to make our church a warm and hospitable place,” Tokiyama said. 

The event is really about building and sustaining community, she said.

“In particular, I really like this festival, as we move into the season, it's kind of a nice way to celebrate that and gather during this time,” Tokiyama said.

@graceogao

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