PHOTO: Chili Bae, composed of UHCL Fusion Dance members won three awards for having the best chili at the event. Photo by The Signal reporter Isaly Flores Castillo. — Chili Bae, composed of UHCL Fusion Dance members won three awards for having the best chili at the event. Photo by The Signal reporter Isaly Flores Castillo.

Chili Cook-Off: Celebrating the longest tradition at UHCL

By Isaly Flores Last updated Apr 11, 2017 511 0

The Annual Chili Cook-Off held at the University of Houston-Clear Lake is an outdoor, family-friendly event organized by the Student Life Office. Students, faculty, staff and the Clear Lake community were encouraged to participate in this long-standing tradition and sample a wide variety of chili dishes to vote for their favorite.

Cheerleaders welcomed Hunter with enthusiasm. Photo by The Signal reporter Isaly Flores Castillo.

This year, the event took place Saturday, April 1, from noon – 4 p.m. Most of the teams began setting up around 8 a.m., and a safety inspection was conducted at 11 a.m. Guests started to arrive at noon. Despite earlier predictions of rain, the spring weather was perfect for an outdoor event, and people could feel the Hawk spirit as soon as they arrived on campus.

The Student Life Office sold chili sample tasting kits at the entrance, and provided guests with a voting ballot. Cheerleaders greeted the guests with live performances, and some visitors could not avoid dancing along with them. The DJ played popular songs, and some of the teams were dancing outside of their booths showing their Hawk spirit.

Then, one of the staff members from the Student Life Office called visitors to gather around the stage and welcome Hunter, the UHCL mascot. Hunter arrived in the UHCL shuttle bus, and as soon as he stepped out of the shuttle, the cheerleaders welcomed him with enthusiasm. A birthday cake was brought out in celebration of Hunter’s 4th birthday. Afterward Hunter greeted guests and gave people the opportunity to take photos with him.

“I would recommend this event to students at UHCL; it is an opportunity to interact with your peers, and it is also a fun event for the kids,” said Razia Sultana Patan, computer science major.

UHCL community having a good time at the event. Photo by The Signal reporter Isaly Flores Castillo.

There were a variety of activities that people could enjoy while they were at the event including a rock climbing wall, giant inflatable slides, bouncy houses, a CAB volleyball tournament, an ONSP bingo challenge where participants could win prizes, and a selfie contest.

“It is my first time attending this event, and it is a great opportunity to meet new people and try different foods, as well as participate in different activities like the bingo challenge,” said Veukata Sai Chaitanya Pinnika, computer information systems major.

There were 14 teams competing at this year’s event. Most of them were student organizations or offices from UHCL. The majority of the teams were composed of approximately 6-8 members who greeted attendees and provided chili samples. Each of the competing teams had a unique style and decorated their tent with different themes. Superheroes, baseball players, Hollywood, country and western, and the paranormal were some of the themes seen at the event.

“According to the Student Life Organization official count, this event started in 1988 and it is the UHCL longest standing tradition,” said Patrick Lawrence Cardenas, assistant director of student life—organizations and activities. “An average of 500-600 people are expected to attend, and the purpose of the event is to gather UHCL students, faculty, staff and the community as a whole.”

Team members were showing their Hawk spirit at the chili cook off — Team members and cheerleaders were showing their Hawk spirit at the event. Photo by The Signal reporter Isaly Flores Castillo.

A first and second call was announced for the popular vote around 3 p.m. After the votes were counted by staff members from the Student Life Office, visitors and team members were called to gather around the stage so the winners could be announced.

For the best chili, the panel of secret judges from UHCL chose Chili Bae as the first place winner. The team was composed of UHCL Fusion Dance members who were very excited when they received their first trophy. The second place trophy was awarded to the Kirby’s Dream Team. Their members are part of the eSports organization. Third place was awarded to Chili Crusaders, the team composed of Orientation and New Students Program members.

HLI 51 received two awards for having the best spirit at the event. Their members are part of the Hawk Leadership Institute at UHCL.

The popular vote for best chili was awarded to Chili Bae and the Cook’s Choice Award ended in a tie between the National Society of Leadership and Success and the UHCL Alumni Association.

An SGA trophy that could only be given to student organizations was awarded to Chili Bae for having the majority of the votes. This trophy will stay in the Student Life Office and the name of their team will be added to it.

“It is our first time competing ever; we even ran out of chili in the first couple of hours,” said Amrita Chatarpal, biology major and Fusion Dance president. “All members of Chili Bae enjoyed the spirit of this event, and we definitely recommend it.”

Also published on Medium.