29th ANNUAL HELL-HATH-NO-FURY LADIES' STATE CHILI COOK-OFF
Get Your Wooden Spoons Poised in Luckenbach, Texas
by Autumn Rhea
If you're looking for some upright small town, hometown good-old-boy grandma styled cooking and musical entertainment, Luckenbach, Texas is just the place to ease your city-fied mind and remind you of what really matters - chili, Lone Star beer and a few chords on that 20-year old fiddle.� There's a blacksmith shop, post office, beer joint, dance hall and a cotton gin, situated on ten acres.
The 29th Annual Hell-Hath-No-Fury Chili Cook-Off went off without a hitch in Luckenbach, Texas, in the tiny hill country "town" (population 3), located a few miles outside of Fredericksburg. This competitive festival has been happening since 1970, on the first weekend of October, and has grown in popularity over the years. Hondo Crouch, self-proclaimed mayor and founder of the infamous event, claims he started the women's cook-off after the Chilympiad in San Marcos excluded women by only allowing men to cook in their contest.� Crouch explained it as: "A women's cookin' contest where you make one little lady happy and 500 mad!"�
This year's event comprised of several events, including a parade, armadillo races, a "Girlie Man" beauty contest, horseshoe, washer pitching and domino tournaments, music from Jimmy Lee Jones, Part of the Problem, Gary P. Nunn and the Bunkhouse Band and Maggie Montgomery at the Chili Ball and over 100 ladies' teams competed for the ultimate in chili cook-off titles.
The teams included a variety of themes and stretches of the imagination and tastebuds and tongues were burning by the day's end from sampling the broad selection from the chili menu.� The "Uptown Chili" team provided a china-decorated table with the finest tea cups in the south� for slurping down their chili concoction.� Another adventurous team was the Mardi Gras group, who offered tasteful temporary tattoos and free dances with the men dressed as women. There were chances to win fancy necklaces after throwing plastic vegetables into a pot and even opportunities to dance a jig with the team of "Cha-Cha Chili" makers.
After the chili events wound down, the locals and tourists prepared for the Chili Ball, with headlining band, Gary P. Nunn. The freshly swept floor was primed for the Texas Two-Step dance and couples, as well as kids, swarmed the floor to show off their version of the dance. There were bragging contests on who could do the most spins as Gary P. Nunn played his most famous song, "I Want to Go Home to the Armadillo" and even convinced the audience to place their hands on the hearts for the National Anthem.� A barefoot man in a blue Hawaiian shirt gracefully guided his dance partner along the floor, next to another proud Luckenbach visitor, sporting a hat with a flowing peacock feather. Everyone smiled and said thank you and welcomed you warmly into their dance hall. Sheriff Marge posed for a photo and explained how long she's been looking out for the town's best interest. "I've been sheriff for about twenty years." Marge even has her own T-shirt, featuring her bold smile and the town's theme "Everybody's Somebody in Luckenbach." Her 65th surprise birthday party is scheduled for November 13th. (Shhh!!)
Wilderness camping is available to those who purchase a $10 dance ticket, and kids under 12 are awarded free admission. Campfire sing-alongs until the early morning hours are a regular occurrence. Arts and Crafts booth space is available for $25 or 15% of the total sales.
If you missed the Chili Cook-Off, there are several other events to give you a reason to visit. Every weekend, there are pickers circles at the Luckenbach post office/bar, with no definite time frame, except that they are over around "dark-thirty."� Upcoming events include the Halloween Ball and costume Contest with Monte Montgomery on October 30, Sheriff Marge's 65th Surpass Birthday Party on November 13, a Thanksgiving Dance with Don Walser on November 27 and the Christmas Ball with Gary P. Nunn on December 26.� And don't forget that every Fourth-of-July Willie Nelson holds his annual picnic, where its population explodes from three to 15,000 in one firecracking weekend.
Check out the calendar of events, get directions or just feel the simplistic Luckenbach vibe via the internet. Just remember, Sheriff Marge means business with her dress code law - women can't wear halter tops and men must wear shirts in her town.
Luckenbach, Texas Inc. 412 Luckenbach Town Loop Fredericksburg, Texas� 78624 (830) 997-3224 (830) 997-1024 - Fax http://www.luckenbachtexas.com
You can also subscribe to the "Luchenbach Moon" - the monthly local "newspaper" for $15 per year in the USA, $25 per year in Canada and $35 for an international subscription.� Just call the above phone number.
If you're looking for some upright small town, hometown good-old-boy grandma styled cooking and musical entertainment, Luckenbach, Texas is just the place to ease your city-fied mind and remind you of what really matters - chili, Lone Star beer and a few chords on that 20-year old fiddle.� There's a blacksmith shop, post office, beer joint, dance hall and a cotton gin, situated on ten acres.
This year's event comprised of several events, including a parade, armadillo races, a "Girlie Man" beauty contest, horseshoe, washer pitching and domino tournaments, music from Jimmy Lee Jones, Part of the Problem, Gary P. Nunn and the Bunkhouse Band and Maggie Montgomery at the Chili Ball and over 100 ladies' teams competed for the ultimate in chili cook-off titles.
The teams included a variety of themes and stretches of the imagination and tastebuds and tongues were burning by the day's end from sampling the broad selection from the chili menu.� The "Uptown Chili" team provided a china-decorated table with the finest tea cups in the south� for slurping down their chili concoction.� Another adventurous team was the Mardi Gras group, who offered tasteful temporary tattoos and free dances with the men dressed as women. There were chances to win fancy necklaces after throwing plastic vegetables into a pot and even opportunities to dance a jig with the team of "Cha-Cha Chili" makers.
After the chili events wound down, the locals and tourists prepared for the Chili Ball, with headlining band, Gary P. Nunn. The freshly swept floor was primed for the Texas Two-Step dance and couples, as well as kids, swarmed the floor to show off their version of the dance. There were bragging contests on who could do the most spins as Gary P. Nunn played his most famous song, "I Want to Go Home to the Armadillo" and even convinced the audience to place their hands on the hearts for the National Anthem.� A barefoot man in a blue Hawaiian shirt gracefully guided his dance partner along the floor, next to another proud Luckenbach visitor, sporting a hat with a flowing peacock feather. Everyone smiled and said thank you and welcomed you warmly into their dance hall. Sheriff Marge posed for a photo and explained how long she's been looking out for the town's best interest. "I've been sheriff for about twenty years." Marge even has her own T-shirt, featuring her bold smile and the town's theme "Everybody's Somebody in Luckenbach." Her 65th surprise birthday party is scheduled for November 13th. (Shhh!!)