A bottle of Pepto-Bismol hung from the belt of Bill “Gumby” Donovan as he prepared chili Saturday morning. He said it was for anyone who might need it.
Donovan came from Cincinnati with his grandson, Josh Murray, and wife, Gail, known for her award-winning salsa.
They compete in various chili and salsa competitions throughout the year, but Gail Donovan said there’s something special about competing at the Smoke on the Water Chili Cookoff in Charleston, as they’ve done for at least 15 years.
“This is one of our favorite cookoffs,” Gail Donovan said. “It seems like they’ve really got the city behind it.”
They quickly ran out of the eight gallons of chili they’d prepared, but happily made more.
The chili cookoff was one of many events that brought the city of Charleston to life Saturday, as FestivALL offered a little something for everyone to enjoy, even the city pups.
The 18th-annual Smoke on the Water Chili Cookoff lined Haddad Riverfront Park with 65 “chili heads,” fixing their own special recipes. The event benefits HospiceCare.
Darlene Carnochan, chairwoman of the chili cookoff, said more than $100,000 has been raised for the charity in the past 16 years.
She said 80 chili chefs registered for the event, forcing organizers to cut off registration early this year. This was the largest turnout yet.
The cooks came from eight states and Canada. Many of them were local, including six law firms that showed up for some “friendly competition.”
“This is the stuff that makes it great to live in Charleston,” said Tom Hurney, an attorney at Jackson Kelly.
The firm wore “Make Chili Great Again” caps and featured “Sweet Heat” chili.
Hurney said the firm enjoys coming out every year to bond outside the office and compete with other law firms.
“We all know each other, we’re all friends, and we all trash talk each other,” he said. “We just have fun.”
Secretary of State Natalie Tennant also was in attendance, despite her busy campaign schedule.
“There’s no way that anybody could say that there’s nothing to do in Charleston,” she said.
Tennant’s daughter performed in Saturday’s FestivALL Art Parade and planned to perform today in the Sunrise Carriage Trail Walk.
Many FestivALL-goers began their day by marching down Capitol Street for the Art Parade.
The masked FestivALL Princess led the procession, followed by visual artists, theatrical groups, dancers, street performers, art cars, music makers and other local organizations.
Painted buckets turned upside down hung from the necks of children as they beat them like drums, representing the Children’s Art Fair. Princesses and ballerinas followed them, appealing to many of the children who recognized their favorite characters.
“Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi,” Alexis Bolen, 4, said eagerly as she attempted to get the attention of the princesses as she sat atop her dad’s shoulders.
She said Ariel is her favorite and that the princesses and ballerinas are the best part of the parade.
Many of the events were not only family friendly, they were also dog friendly.
During Woofstock and Wieners, at Magic Island, many dogs came out to compete in various competitions with their owners.
Although the event is known for its annual Wiener Dog Races, it featured new races this year, allowing all breeds to participate.
Many vendors came out to participate and raise funds for the Kanawha-Charleston Humane Association.
Pups also participated in costume contests, fetch competitions, doggy musical chairs and other activities.
Laura Creasey, of South Charleston, brought her dachshund, Brutus, to compete. She adopted him from KCHA in November.
While many of the other dogs raced to their owners during the races, Brutus laid down.
“No treats or anything could have enticed him,” Creasey said.
To escape the heat, some pups indulged in venison-, beef- and chicken-flavored snow cones, cleverly named “K9 Koolers” by Denise Messigner.
She said a vegan option wasn’t well-loved by the first taste-testers, so she had to eliminate the option, but she also served K9 Smoothies in various vegetable flavors.
At an urban street fair in the Elk City Historic District, cold treats were the center of attention.
Those who attended created custom sundaes and enjoyed floats. For those 21 and older, “hard” root beer floats were a special treat.
Activities for children, including face painting, street games, a caricaturist, and arts and crafts were planned throughout the evening between performances by local musicians.
Reach Jennifer Gardner at jennifer.gardner@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-5102 or follow @jennc_gardner on Twitter.