Photo by Ingrid Schnader.
Watkins Thomas serves a cup of chili to Ellen Blockowitz at The Exceptional Foundation’s Chili Cook-Off on March 7, 2020, at Brookwood Village.`
The first Saturday in March of every year is typically when the Exceptional Foundation hosts its annual Chili Cook-Off, which means for most people that this event was the last “normal” thing they did in 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic shut everything down.
Now the event is back in 2021 with another in-person Chili Cook-Off, which will be Saturday, May 1. The later start date was per advice from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the Jefferson County Department of Health, said Robbie Lee, the public relations director for The Exceptional Foundation.
The event features live music, a kid zone and all-you-can-eat chili. In 2020, there were 158 teams competing for best chili. It will be at Brookwood Village in the Macy’s parking lot again this year and will be 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
A few things will look different this year, Lee said. Tents will be spaced out more in comparison to last year so that people can social distance. Capacity will also be limited.
“We’ve never gotten a full count, but from crowd estimates we’ve gotten from police and others, crowd estimators normally put it upwards of 10,000 people,” he said. “We definitely realize that’s probably not feasible this year.”
Tickets are $15, and sales help fund programs for The Exceptional Foundation, which is a nonprofit organization in Homewood serving individuals with special needs from the greater Birmingham area. The event is rain or shine. Masks are required. For more information, visit exceptionalfoundation.org/chili.
