Austin Hot Sauce Festival

(Photo Credit: basykes)

Yesterday I went and checked out the 19th annual Austin Hot Sauce Festival. It was held at Waterloo Park, which is located downtown. As it turns out, it originally started as a contest between Austin and San Antonio for the best hot sauce.

The event was free to the public and all they asked was that you either brought 3 cans of food or made a cash donation to the Capital Area Food Bank. It normally brings in around 15,000 people which is pretty good turnout.

Here’s a picture heading in to the festival:

The Hot Sauce

There was supposedly more than 350 different types of hot sauce at the event which is pretty amazing. It’s hard to believe there are that many different kinds.

What’s even more crazy is the fact that over 100 gallons of hot sauce are consumed every year at the event. That’s a hell of a lot of hot sauce!

Unfortunately, I didn’t try any hot sauces other than the ones they had at the Santa Rita food stand. The lines were just way to long and I wasn’t ready to stand in line for an hour without any shade. It was hot as hell out there.

The Music

The event also featured live music all day. Some of the bands included The Tiny Tin Hearts and The Fireants. Listening to some music wasn’t a bad way to spend a Sunday afternoon. Especially since there wasn’t a cloud in the sky (sort of a bad thing).

Overall, it was a fun time checking out the festival. It’s always nice to see events helping out charities and food banks. For more pictures, check out my Austin Hot Sauce Festival photo album.

Published on August 31st, 2009. And don't forget to check out my book, Life After the Cubicle.