It’s Chilifest Time Again!!  

Once again the Crowsnest  Pass Allied Arts Association will be rolling out beautiful handmade bowls loaded with home made chili, as the ultimate winter warmer.  This is the 21st year that the CNPAA has extended the invitation to the public to come out to this soup-erb annual Chilifest fundraiser.  

The original creator of this event was an amazing woman by the name of Jeanne Beatty, who was, back in 2004, a member of the Allied Arts board. Jeanne was also an avid potter and a member of the potting club which celebrated its 50th anniversary last year.   Jeanne Beatty’s life regimen took her to the age of almost 102 and her legacy of the pottery donation to help this special event continues.  And that is exactly what it is, a donation to help with the Allied Arts always necessary fundraising. 

There is a huge amount of volunteer work that goes into crafting 250 handmade bowls for this important event.  

Darren Gerulski, who has advanced pottery creations on display right now at the gallery,has, on his own, crafted no less than 50 bowls.  So members of the pottery club really lean into making sure that there is a lovely variety of bowl creations to choose from each year. Beginner members of the pottery club get to practice on the wheel making bowls that get put to good use. 

So this is how it all goes. You pick a bowl, you fill the bowl, you eat what’s in the bowl and you keep the bowl.  Now that’s a stew-pendous deal.   And it comes with home baked cookies, a bun and a drink. 

This always very social gathering is happening on March 1st at the Allied Art Gallery in Frank starting at 11AM.  It continues until all 250 bowls, topped off with the dozen or so different recipes that have been created, are gone.  Here is your chance to dabble in some varied chili creations by volunteers with their own special recipes.  My chili con carne (aka chili with meat) contribution to this fun event comes from the one and only Julie Rosendal’s  “Beef and Spolumbo Sausage” recipe that never misses.

The origin of the first chili recipe is unclear but Texas claims to be where it all started.   One can go to Snook, Texas for a two day Chili Festival but I guarantee you that getting to keep a homemade pottery bowl that was once filled with chili is something pretty exclusive to the event here in the Pass. 

There are dozens of variations to a chili’s composition but one thing is for sure and that is that sampling different types of chili’s is a taste treat that doesn’t come by often. So be sure to bring the family down to the gallery March 1st to enjoy a hot bowl of the varied creations that gallery members and volunteers are sharing. Pick yourself out a bowl that pleases your eye and remember, “Chili is like a warm hug on a cold day.”