O’Leno hosts fourth annual chili cook-off

Local and out-of-state non-profits will team up Saturday to spice things up in the name of charity and good chili.

Now in its fourth year, the O’Leno Ole’ Chili Cook-Off will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday in the park, located off US 441 about six miles north of downtown High Springs. Registration starts at 8, and anyone is welcome to compete.

The event is sponsored by Friends of O’Leno, Inc., a Florida non-profit dedicated to funding special projects within the park that the state doesn’t provide funding for. The organization partners with Chili Appreciation Society International, Inc. (CASI); a Texas-based non-profit that puts a passion for chili to work for other charities.

The fundraising objective this year, said Friends of O’Leno event coordinator Harriet Walsh, is to continue to support the park’s new nature center as well as to raise money to purchase visual media equipment like a screen and projector for the park dinning hall.

There will be two separately judged competitions going on: one is the open category and the other is the CASI division. To enter one or the other is $20 per team, or $35 to compete in both. All winners will receive trophies.

There is no limit to how many entries are allowed.

For non-competitors, park admission will be charged as one canned food item per person. Walsh said the organization opted for this form of charge because local food banks are in “dire need” right now.

Last year, Walsh said the cook-off raised between $600 and $700 for Friends of O’Leno, and she hopes it will be even more this year.

The park will also be hosting Alachua County’s Springs Celebration, an event the cook-off has coordinated with in the past.

For more information, visit the O’Leno State Park page on floridastateparks.org.