by Terry Jaurena
We tried an idea out for November’s ArtHop. The idea was: have some kind of fun all-church event in the parking lot DURING ArtHop. Why? To help us lean into our outreach focus on those who live, work, or are invested in downtown Fresno. So we put on a Chili Cook-Off!
People who attend ArtHop the first Thursday of every month are invested in downtown Fresno. FPC has been an official ArtHop venue for years as a way to connect and engage with these invested in downtown neighbors. A chili cook-off seemed like a great way to attract passersby to our venue. I (Terry) can’t really say how many of the 55 or so people who tasted the 8 chili entries were not already connected to FPC, but I know some of the quilt guild members and their friends stopped by. My neighbors even came and enjoyed it!
The weather was lovely and the vibe was festive. It was worth the work!
Many thanks to the 8 chefs who entered the contest: Steve Jaurena (he really had no choice), Jim Cousins, Mindy Franklin, Laura Spongberg, Dennis & Michelle DeSimone, John Goodell, Marlene VanBrocklin, and Shelly Coburn. The competition was intense! We invited tasters to select their top 3 and the top 2 winners were the less traditional chili entries.
Laura Spongberg took 1st place with her chili mac entry. Just one point behind her in 2nd place was Marlene VanBrocklin’s white bean chicken chili. Jim Cousin’s chili came in 3rd. 1st place winner received a Whole Foods gift card, 2nd place a SaveMart gift card, and third … well they got a Smart & Final gift card. 
Deborah Hughes is thinking about compiling the recipes if the chefs are willing to share. She thinks that if we ever did it again, we should add a corn bread bake-off, to amp the competition.
Hats off to the amazing set-up & clean-up volunteers: Dave & Kim Peltola, Marianne Lee, and Teresa Leonard would not have been able to set-up without our custodians, Freddie & Sarah. Deborah Hughes, Suzanne Kimball and Margie Nunez greeted & guided guests and stayed to help Jeremy, Jackie Pearson, Michaela Kimball, Helena Phillips, Kaitlyn Kelley & I clean up, as did several of the chefs. Though a bit of work to haul everything over and back again, it’s a lot of fun to be in the parking lot.
We won’t do something in the parking lot every month for ArtHop, but we are always welcoming guests into our Gallery the 1st Thursday of every month. Let me invite you to consider joining our ArtHop hospitality team. If that interests you, let’s talk!
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