Eight Lakeside charities were the beneficiaries of the profits procured from the Ajijic Chili Cookoff held in February at the Tobolandia water park in Ajijic.
The Cookoff wound up in the black despite having to split their loyalties, equipment and support with the Chapala Carnaval, having publicity banners torn down repeatedly and, most taxing of all, negotiating the unseasonal rain.
Revenue garnered from admissions and parking, liquor and beer sales, food sales, chili tasting, margarita tasting, t-shirt and apron sales, raffles, booth sales, donations and the duck race came to 515,824 pesos. Expenses involved with admission and parking, liquor and beer, food, tasting, margarita tasting, T shirts and aprons, booth sales expenses and commissions, trophies and sponsor awards, advertising, entertainment, rent, electricity and garbage removal, field expenses, website expenses and miscellaneous came to 323,189 pesos.
That left a margin in the plus column of 192,634 pesos.
Profits were divided equally between the eight charities: Progama pro Niños Incapacitados, Los Niños de Chapala y Ajijic, Cruz Roja, Love in Action, Lakeside School for the Deaf, Centro Desarrollo, Niños de San Antonio and Casa de Ancianos. Each received a check for 25,000 pesos.
All the charities contributed to the event as volunteers, as food vendors or in some other capacity.
“Attendance was down some from last year but overall sales were good and folks seemed to have a good time,” said Cookoff President Jim Hussin. “Beer sales were down because of the chilly damp weather, but people warmed up to the margarita contest and we sold lots of coffee.”
Besides board members Don Howse, Laura Diaz Hobson, Dave Paterson, Sharon Ford, Fran Shiver, John Brown, Cynthia Frazier-Rogers, Jorge Valencia, Stuart Anderson and Estela Flores, nearly 300 volunteers pitched in to make it work.
Rain or no rain, Hussin and his board are already excited about next year’s 35th edition of the iconic Lakeside event. They are already checking calendars to come up with the best dates and are looking forward to making it all happen again.
For more information about this year’s Chili Cookoff go to www.mexicanchilicookoff.com.