For Immediate Release: January 3, 2005
Contact:
Andy J. Flynn | Public Relations | Adirondack Park Agency
contact@apa.ny.gov | (518) 891-4050
PAUL SMITHS – The Adirondack Park Agency Visitor Interpretive Center (VIC) at Paul Smiths is looking for chili cooks to enter the annual Wild Winter Chili Cooking Contest, which will be held Sunday, Jan. 16 during the Chilly Ski Festival.
“This is your official invitation to submit your best pot of chili and win the coveted Golden Crock-Pot Award,” said VIC Senior Public Information Specialist Andy Flynn. “Go traditional without the beans or go exotic with fruit and all kinds of spices. Just have fun with it.”
Each year, Paul Smiths VIC staff and volunteers and amateur cooks from around the Tri-Lakes region bring Crock-Pots full of chili, which is sold at the Chilly Ski Festival concession table. The donation entitles cooks to enter the Wild Winter Chili Cooking Contest and vie for the Golden Crock-Pot Award. Winners also get their names engraved on a plaque at the VIC.
In 2003, VIC volunteer Joy Harvey, of Saranac Lake, took first place in the contest, and in 2004, VIC volunteer Lethe Lescinsky, of Lake Placid, was the winner.
Chili cooks interested in entering the contest must preregister by calling Chilly Ski Festival organizer Andy Flynn at (518) 327-3000. Chili must be in electric Crock-Pots at the Paul Smiths VIC by 9 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 16, and cooks should have their own ladles. The Crock-Pots and ladles should have the cooks’ names taped on them. It is free to enter the contest; the donation of the chili replaces the entry fee. Crock-Pots should be picked up between 2 and 4 p.m.
Proceeds from the chili concession go to the Adirondack Park Institute, the non-profit organization that funds environmental education programs, publications, curricula and special events at the Paul Smiths and Newcomb VICs.
There will be a VIP panel of judges, including staff from media outlets around the Tri-Lakes region. Judging begins at 9:30 a.m. The chili concession, with cornbread muffins and drinks, will be open from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. The winner of the contest will be announced around noon.
“There was a good showing of chili from residents in the villages of Saranac Lake and Lake Placid last year,” Flynn said. “We hope to get even more entries from the public this year, and restaurant entries are welcome.”
The Chilly Ski Festival, held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Jan. 16, will feature cross-country skiing, children’s activities, the Coolest Hat Contest, learn-to-ski workshops and a ski-waxing clinic. Admission is $5 per person ($15 per family), and the entry fee includes ski rentals, hot beverages, attendance at the workshops, and eligibility for prizes. People register at the door.
The Chilly Ski Festival is sponsored by the Adirondack Park Institute, the Saranac Lake Area Chamber of Commerce, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, and the High Peaks Cyclery Mountain Adventure Center of Lake Placid.
The New York State Adirondack Park Agency operates two VICs, in Paul Smiths and Newcomb, which are open year-round from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily except Christmas and Thanksgiving. They offer a wide array of educational programs, miles of interpretive trails and visitor information services. Admission is free.
The Paul Smiths VIC is located 12 miles north of Saranac Lake on Route 30. For more information about the VICs, log on to the centers’ Web site at www.northnet.org/adirondackvic.