{"id":23618,"date":"2025-06-29T04:39:08","date_gmt":"2025-06-29T04:39:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/23618\/"},"modified":"2025-06-29T04:39:08","modified_gmt":"2025-06-29T04:39:08","slug":"ocean-beach-street-fair-and-cook-off-draws-thousands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/23618\/","title":{"rendered":"Ocean Beach Street Fair and cook-off draws thousands"},"content":{"rendered":"

Around 40 years ago, a group of neighbors in Ocean Beach came up with an idea: why not host a street party in the heart of the community?<\/p>\n

The idea was soon realized, and local merchants and music and food were organized along a block of Newport Avenue for an ultimate community gathering. The Ocean Beach Street Fair was born.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe barbecued out on the street when there weren\u2019t so many regulations \u2014 we just closed down the street,\u201d said Denny Knox, the executive director of the Ocean Beach Main Street Association, who was a part of the community group that planned the first street fair in the early 1980s.<\/p>\n

One problem, she added, was the music stage\u2019s location. \u201cIt rattled all the windows on the businesses across the street.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ThisThe 45th Annual Ocean Beach Street Fair & Chili Cook-Off took place on Saturday. (Nelvin C. Cepeda \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n

On Saturday, now after decades of success, the annual street fair returned to Ocean Beach. It brought crowds of people to Newport Avenue and surrounding streets to peruse\u00a0dozens of vendor booths, listen to music at two main stages and enjoy an idyllic San Diego summer day.<\/p>\n

Plus, attendees could participate in the long-standing chili cook-off \u2014 a key part of the street fair since 1984. This year, there were 24 different teams \u2014 including nine restaurants and 15 amateur chefs \u2014 competing for cash prizes.<\/p>\n

Along with a panel of judges, event attendees could get in on their own judging, with tasters receiving a card to keep track of the chilis. \u201cI\u2019m ready for the next one,\u201d an attendee was heard saying, with another telling his friend that he was \u201ca little chili-ed out.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for the competitors, they take their job seriously.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not a lot of store-bought stuff here \u2014 it\u2019s a lot of homemade,\u201d said Alex Peltier, who, with a couple of friends, has participated in the cook-off for the last three years.<\/p>\n

\"AtAt the 45th Annual Ocean Beach Street Fair & Chili Cook-Off, Lauren Alstrup (r) and Ana Buelna (l) served up samples of their chili from the La Do\u00f1a restaurant. The group is competing in the restaurant division for the chili cook-off. (Nelvin C. Cepeda \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n

Their chili on Saturday was made with an array of meat, including smoked brisket, tri-tip and sausage, and a mix of beans, seasonings, garlic and veggies.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re all coming from different areas, so\u2026 we\u2019re blending recipes together,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

A lot has changed about the Ocean Beach Street Fair and Chili Cook-Off since its inception. There are more regulations now, and sponsors. It\u2019s also grown; there\u2019s a beer garden, a Hodad\u2019s burger eating contest along with a special section dedicated to local artists\u2019 handmade items and demonstrations.<\/p>\n

The event was initially hosted as a way to raise money for the Fourth of July fireworks show, but over the years, the fair and cook-off\u2019s operating costs have increased significantly.<\/p>\n

A portion of the profit made from the event now goes toward the Ocean Beach Main Street Association\u2019s Clean & Safe Program, an initiative with efforts including sidewalk cleaning and solar safety lighting.<\/p>\n

But a lot has also stayed the same. The event still aims to support local businesses, and some of the event\u2019s founders are still actively involved \u2014 such as Mike Akey, the chili cook-off\u2019s founder, head judge and vice president of the Ocean Beach Main Street Association.<\/p>\n

\"AtAt the 45th Annual Ocean Beach Street Fair & Chili Cook-Off on Saturday, several painters take part in the large \u201ccommunity mural\u201d project. (Nelvin C. Cepeda \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n

A lifelong Ocean Beach resident and chili connoisseur, Akey has seen his fair share of unique chili over the years. There was one made with armadillo and another with snake, and chilis that were white in color, instead of the typical red.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is what I tell the judges: Look for color, consistency, taste and smell,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

In the past, he\u2019s seen chili chefs dress up in costumes, and once someone presented their chili in a \u2014 clean \u2014 toilet bowl. Contestants must make 10 gallons of chili so that all judges and participants can have a taste.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re very creative,\u201d Akey said. \u201cI have to give them credit for that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ocean Beach residents Joanne and Carl Savage were waiting in line for their next chili sample late Saturday morning, after having already tried several options. Some chilis were spicy and smoky, others sweet, and there were vegetarian chilis while others were made with a variety of meats.<\/p>\n

The couple has lived in Ocean Beach since 1998 and has been coming to the street fair for about 15 years.<\/p>\n

The event does feel like a locals\u2019 event, almost like a kick-off to summer in one of San Diego\u2019s quintessential beach towns.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been going to this since I was a kid,\u201d said Jeff Kalmonson, another longtime resident.<\/p>\n

And while he was enjoying the chili at the cook-off, it\u2019s about more than that, he says. \u201cIt\u2019s the community and just a fun atmosphere.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Around 40 years ago, a group of neighbors in Ocean Beach came up with an idea: why not…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":23619,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5134],"tags":[5229,1582,276,171,1370,8738,3549,3550,7264,1072,7289,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-23618","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-diego","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-california","11":"tag-entertainment","12":"tag-latest-headlines","13":"tag-north-county","14":"tag-san-diego","15":"tag-san-diego-county","16":"tag-sandiego","17":"tag-things-to-do","18":"tag-top-stories-sdut","19":"tag-united-states","20":"tag-united-states-of-america","21":"tag-unitedstates","22":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","23":"tag-us","24":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114764812499495892","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23618","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23618"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23618\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23619"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23618"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23618"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23618"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}