Taste the burn at Chilly Fest 2025
In downtown Port Huron, the annual Chilly Fest took place this year on Feb. 7-8. Various fun activities, from live music to a penguin race, were held and participants came from all over the state.
“Chilly Fest is a great event located downtown in the winter where everyone can enjoy fun activities. People from all over the state come every year,” says Lisa DeLong, the director of the Downtown Development Authority (DDA) for Port Huron.
This was DeLong’s first year running the event, as she just joined the DDA in December 2024. The festival has been held for decades and is now hosted by the Downtown Development Authority, McMorran Place, Port Huron Parks & Recreation, and the Chilly Fest Committee, composed of community residents.
“A lot of fun things happen at the festival, from ice sculptures to live music,” DeLong says.
The event included a penguin race, a chili crawl cook-off competition, ice sculptures, a Kid’s Zone at McMorran Place, carriage rides, face painting, and a free s’more station. Food trucks, including Mr. Italy, Your Mom’s House, and What the Fry, dished out savory and sweet delicacies. The bands, The Gobies and Your Generation in Concert provided live music at Wrigley Center in the evening.
27 ice sculptures sparkled on the boulevard, created by the talented Katlin Pfropper from Pfrosted. Local businesses purchased blocks of ice and Pfropper carved their visions at her business and live at the festival.
15 local restaurants were a part of the chili competition including the Raven Café and Casey’s. The festival attendees bought a wristband for $15 and walked around downtown, sampling all the entries, then voted for their favorite for the People’s Choice Award.
Five judges determined the winner of the Judge’s Choice Award. The judges were all local celebrities, Mayor Anita Ashford, Brad Biewer from 105.1 FM, Trash the Clown, Police Chief Brian Kerrigan, and 13-year-old Elly Rock, a self-proclaimed chili connoisseur who wants to attend culinary school. Rock became a judge this year after approaching organizers last year stating she needed to be on the panel. Entries were judged on color, aroma, taste, and aftertaste.
The winners for 2025 were Chef Shell’s for the People’s Choice and What the Fry for the Judge’s Choice.
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