Image courtesy of Winfield Crooked Creek Days.

The City of Winfield will be warming up this Saturday at their inaugural chili cook-off.

This competition is hosted by the Crooked Creek Days committee, raising funds primarily for their fireworks display, which committee member Scott Jennings says is the third-largest display in southeast Iowa. Jennings says this event helps grow Crooked Creek Days, “These fundraisers provide that extra funding to do some new events and also to provide for the fireworks. It also gives us the flexibility to do more stuff. We take these fundraising events seriously and we would like to continue doing them. It also keeps Crooked Creek in the minds for people all year and it gives them different things to do.”

The chili cook-off takes place Saturday at the Welcome Inn Banquet Room in Winfield with a $20 entry fee for competitors and a 50% payout to the winner. Registration is at 4 p.m. with judging at 5:30 p.m. There is a $5 entry fee for spectators who want to taste all the chili and vote for the public choice award.