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Coffs Harbour will be bringing the heat this weekend as a record crowd is expected to descend on the Sawtell Chilli Festival. What you need to know.
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With ‘just right’ goldilocks weather forecast, organisers have their fingers-crossed for a record crowd at tomorrow’s Sawtell Chilli Festival.
Now in its latest installation, the festival has grown steadily in popularity and they are rolling out the big guns for this weekend’s event.
Celebrity chef Karen Martini from Better Homes & Garden fame will run cooking demonstrations and book signings.
The 2023 version of all things spicy will be officially opened at 10am, with NSW Governor Margaret Beazley and Coffs Harbour MP Gurmesh Singh on hand.
“It’s the million dollar question as to how many we’ll get. Last year it was rainy and we still got six to seven thousand (people),” festival event manager Sherry Price said.
“We’re hoping for record crowds, we’re hoping for 10,000, which will be great.”
Like a slow simmering con carne, the Chilli Festival continues to move with the times.
This year there will be an entrance fee of $5, which has got up the nostrils of some, but the costs of staging the signature event have increased significantly.
“Instead of a gold coin donation (as it was) it will be $5 per adult and kids are free,” Ms Price said.
The event will be fully fenced, with four main gateways and admission tickets can be bought online and on the day.
Ms Price noted festival proceeds are funnelled back to the Sawtell Chamber of Commerce, which in turn plough its funds back into the community for its betterment.
There will be a motza of entertainment across the day, including a chilli-themed eating competition that may revive memories of the hilarious radio skit where Indian Hasha Bhogler dared cricket comedian Kerry ‘Skull’ O’Keeffe to bite into a Naga chilli.
The eating competition will be in the form of chilli chicken wings - and punters who fancy their chances can register on the day.
The Sawtell Chilli Festival has also been quick to embrace technology - with people encouraged to download the app for a full schedule of events.
On what will be the first day of the NSW school holidays, people are expected to travel from near and far to Coffs Harbour - a city which celebrates heat, from the weather and chillies through to the Woolgoolga Curryfest.
“It’s going to be really big this year with a lot of new vendors,” Ms Price of Another Tasty Event said.
Gates will open at 9am and the festival on First Ave will shut down at 4pm.
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