VisArts to Host 5th Annual Art Junction Chili Throwdown on Friday, Oct. 5

The Visual Arts Center of Richmond will host its fifth annual chili cook-off, the Art Junction Chili Throwdown, on Friday, Oct. 5 from 6 to 9 p.m. This year’s event will feature the chili of more than 20 Richmond restaurants and music by the Cary Street Ramblers.

Tickets are $20 for VisArts members and $25 for the general public. Kids under age 12 eat for $5 and kids under age 3 eat free. Adult admission includes a handmade ceramic bowl—made by a VisArts clay artist—and a drink ticket. Additional ceramic bowls will be available for purchase. Scoop, a new ice cream shop located in Richmond’s Fan District, will be selling ice cream sandwiches at the event and donating 20 percent of its sales to VisArts.

Restaurants contribute their best chili, which is taste-tested by both a blind jury and the event’s attendees. VisArts names an overall winner and a people’s choice winner. After guests have voted, they’re welcome to go back for a full bowl of their favorite chili. This year’s celebrity guest judges are local food editors  Karri Peifer (Richmond Times-Dispatch) and Eileen Mellon (Richmond Magazine), food stylist Cathy Hinton and Robey Martin, a local food, spirits and culture writer.

Last year, more than 500 people attended this indoor/outdoor event. The 2017 defending champions are Mosaic Restaurant and Garnish Catering.

The following restaurants have already signed on to participate this year: 821 Café, Amuse, Bombolini Pasta, Brenner Pass, Curbside, Garnish Catering, Goatocado, The Graduate, Hometeam Grill, Mean Bird, Mosaic Catering, Mosaic Restaurant, Postbellum, Smoke Pit Grill, Union Market and WPA Southside.

Special thanks to the event’s sponsors: Ardent Craft Ales, Belle Isle Craft Spirits, Clayworks Supplies, Kroger, Sauer’s, Scoop and Susan Sadid of Joyner Fine Properties.

Interested in volunteering at this event? Please sign up on our volunteer page. For every two hours you work, you receive $10 off VisArts tuition.