Preparations are underway for the eighth annual SCV Charity Chili Cook-off, and organizers are looking for sponsors and chili cooker contestants. The event will take place at 6:00 p.m. on St. Patrick’s Day, Tuesday, March 17, 2020, at the Hyatt Regency in Valencia.

Forty entrants will share their favorite chili recipes for a chance to be crowned a winner. The fee to enter the chili contest is $125. Prizes will be awarded to the top three chili’s People’s Choice and Judges Choice categories. For more information, visit scvcharitycookoff.com.

Each year event proceeds benefit a local nonprofit organization. Funds raised through the 2020 cook-off will go to FeedSCV. FeedSCV was founded in 2015, but had its roots planted well before that. Local foodies, after coming together through social media, decided to put their collective efforts towards helping others. After organizing several events benefiting local nonprofits, co-founders Scott Ervin and Todd Wilson recognized that there was a need that others weren’t meeting and started feedSCV to fill that hole.

The proceeds raised will help with the weekend backpack program, “Ready To Learn.” The program currently serves the Newhall School District. It provides meals for kids identified as “in need” by the district’s social services, some, classified as homeless. That can include kids staying with relatives (couch-surfing) or living with parents in cars or RVs, or similar circumstances.

Each Friday, the kids get to take home a backpack filled with “shelf-stable” single-serving meals for the weekend: Three meals per day and a few snacks as well. Volunteers acquire the food, stuff the backpacks, and deliver them to the schools each week. Currently, the program is nearing capacity and the additional funds will allow increased capacity both in terms of food, and access to a larger assembly site.

Attendees of the cookoff will get to taste 40 chili’s, vote for their favorite in the people choice portion of the contest, enjoy live entertainment, dancing, cash bar, silent and live auctions and a 50/50 opportunity drawing.

The event begins at 6:00 p.m. and general admission is $25 online until Feb. 14. After Feb. 14, tickets will be $30. A limited number of advance-purchase VIP tickets are available for $65, which includes early entry at 5:30 p.m., one drink ticket, VIP area access, VIP parking, swag bag, souvenir glass and VIP hors d’oeuvres.

Sponsors to date include Schlick Art, Hyatt Regency, 24/7 Events, J & M Entertainment, Magazine of Santa Clarita, Event Staffing, American Family Funding, Skycrest Signs, KHTS Radio, The Santa Clarita Valley Signal, Loan Depot, Finance of America, Logix Federal Credit Union.

To become a sponsor or donor, register as a Chili chef or purchase tickets, visit scvcharitychilicookoff.com or call Nicole at 661-816-4234 or Steve at 310-800-3064.