The Similkameen Sizzle Pepper Festival keeps getting bigger and bigger.
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鈥淭he last two years, we鈥檝e put the sizzle on the map,鈥� said organizer Colleen Christensen, adding the two-day event 鈥� Sept. 20 and 21 this year in Keremeos鈥� Memorial Park 鈥� has grown about 50 per cent in 10 years.
One of the main factors it has become popular over the years is that people are drawn to it because it is specifically a pepper festival, she said.
鈥淲hen you talk about a pepper festival everybody says, 鈥榃hat? A pepper festival?鈥� That鈥檚 the thing that tweaks people鈥檚 interest,鈥� she said. 鈥淭here are a whole bunch of fall fairs but when you say pepper festival they want to know more about it.鈥�
The hot pepper eating contest, which takes place on Saturday at 4 p.m., is the most popular event, she added.
鈥淚t is extremely popular. The park can be empty and all of a sudden the pepper eating contest is happening and you look around and the park is full. People actually come back just to watch,鈥� said Christensen, adding the chili cook-off at 11 a.m. is also popular.
The Friday Night dance kicks off the festival with a slew of local performers. It opens with the Oxbow Swamp Revue, and the headlining band is The Organic Humans.
Saturday kicks off with pancake breakfast at 8 a.m. with vendors opening at 9 a.m. There will be live entertainment all day from DJ JD. Also on Saturday, there will be a hot sauce, salsa and everything else pepper contest and hot pepper display.
Christensen said she has been working on the organizing committee for 10 years and remembers a time when it was just a small community event.
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鈥淚t was a very low-key Similkameen event. We did all the stuff that we do now but it was done in a very low-key way. We didn鈥檛 have the funding that we needed,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ack in the day, it was only the one day. When it was first going on, we only had the dinner and the dance on the same day.
鈥淲e had the chili cook-off, the hot pepper eating contest and always had vendors in the park. And we always had breakfast so the basics were there.鈥�
Another major thing that makes the festival popular is that it is free.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 what is special about this event. We鈥檝e made it so that is affordable as can be and fun.鈥�
While they don鈥檛 have exact numbers of how many people come to Keremeos at the time, they do come from around the region and west coast, she said.
The family-friendly event also features a bouncy castle and play and spray kids鈥� area.
To report a typo, email: editor@keremeosreview.com.
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