Harvest Festival concludes with Chili Day

BETHEL, NY — The sixth annual “Chili Day in October” will be held Sunday, October 12 from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at The Harvest Festival at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts. The final weekend of the 10th anniversary season, the chili cook-off, features a friendly competition between area fire and emergency services departments

Last year, the Sullivan County Emergency 911 Center took home the award, while the White Lake Fire Department took home the prize of best chili judged by Thunder 102. At 12:00 noon, judges Paul Ciliberto and Lou Monteleone (“Lord of the Trout”) will choose their favorite recipe and award them with the Thunder Country Choice trophy, with guests voting for their favorite recipe starting at 12:30 p.m.

There will be live music by 1967—Classic Nostalgia, The Shots and the Bergen County Firefighters Pipe Band. Local author Patrick Thomas will sign copies of his book “Empty Graves,” and a photo exhibit by John Jordan ((www.photojordan.com)), “A Day in the Life of a Firefighter,” will also be featured. The Committee for the Family of Iraqi War Veterans will have a static helicopter exhibit presented by P & J Helicopter Charter Service of Phillips & Jordan, Inc., and will offer chances to win a free helicopter tour.

For this year’s Harvest Festival, a series of one-of-a-kind cedar wooden benches were decorated by local artists to be auctioned off as a fundraiser to support Harvest Festival children’s programming. Sunday marks the end of the silent auction. Bidding will close at 2:00 p.m., and winners will be announced from the stage at 3:30 p.m.