Interview: Jeremiah Papineau talks 25th annual North Country Chili Cook Off
WATERTOWN, NY- The Volunteer Transportation Center Foundation will mark the 25th anniversary of its Annual North Country Chili Cook-Off this February.
The event will return in the hybrid format it adopted last February, being offered first at participating restaurants and businesses in Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence Counties and culminating with its in-person event at the Dulles State Office Building in Watertown.
“We’re excited to be back for what will be our 25th anniversary of this fun community event and crucial fundraiser,” said Jeremiah S. Papineau, Director of Communications and Foundation Director for the VTC.
“We had great success last year by marrying the restaurant-to-restaurant format we offered during the COVID-19 pandemic with our traditional in-person event. It was the best of both worlds.”
Listen to our latest on-air coverage for more details:
The North Country Chili Cook-Off will return in February starting with its restaurant-to-restaurant format Thursday, February 1, which will run through Wednesday, February 21.
Participating restaurants and businesses will make available samples of their chili entries during regular hours of operation during that time and the public will be able to vote for their favorite entries. ***REGISTER HERE. Call for more details: 315-788-0422.
The entry with the most votes will receive a plaque denoting them winner of the People’s Choice Award for the tri-county competition.
In addition, participating locations will again be able to compete for the Top Fundraiser Award by collecting donations for the Volunteer Transportation Center Foundation.
The participating team with the highest amount raised will receive this special recognition. Winners of both awards will be recognized at the in-person event at the Dulles State Office Building on Saturday, February 24.
Proceeds of the North Country Chili Cook-Off will benefit the Volunteer Transportation Center, which provides essential rides to health care appointments, grocery shopping, and other destinations for residents with no transportation alternatives.
Funds raised through the cook-off are earmarked to provide transportation to veterans and their family members, which make up roughly one-third of those transported by volunteer drivers through the VTC.
In 2022, volunteer drivers provided 26,487 charitable trips over 878,240 miles in Jefferson, Lewis, and St. Lawrence Counties.
Of those miles, 376,604 helped those in Jefferson County, 137,743 in Lewis County, and 363,893 in St. Lawrence County, equating to approximately $439,120 in mileage reimbursement for volunteers.
VTC image.
