STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK
Hailey Fire Chief Craig Aberbach has thrown down the gauntlet:
“You’ve gotta ask yourself one question—‘Do I feel lucky?’ Well, do you punk?” he’s said in his best Clint Eastwood imitation.
Aberbach is challenging anyone and everyone to show what they’ve got at the 5B Father’s Day Bash and Five Alarm Fireworks Firefighter’s Chili Cook-off from noon to 6 p.m. Sunday, June 17.
The cook-off will be held on Carbonate Street off Main Street in downtown Hailey. There’ll be a category for professionals and another for amateurs, along with live music, Sun Valley craft beer, cool classic cars, raffle prizes, a bouncy house and more.
A $10 wristband will enable folks to test all the chili with the money going to the Hailey 4th of July Fireworks fund and the Hailey Fire Department.
Aberbach will be serving up his tried and tested chili with a few additions. And he welcomes the competition.
“This is the third chili cook-off I’ve participated in since moving to Hailey,” said Aberbach, who has 10 chili cook-offs under his belt in all his years of firefighting. “We got 15 different chilies the first year and 25 the second. We can always use more.”
Locals have turned out with an array of chilies featuring wild game and more. The 2015 contest featured a Road Kill Chili.
Aberbach’s recipe for great chili?
“It has something for everybody with a little hot and a little sweet going,” he said.
The fireworks display and parade cost between $25,000 to $30000 a year to produce, according to Mary Austin Crofts, executive director of The Chamber. They’re primarily funded with donations, business sponsorships and support from the City of Hailey.
Last year’s parade lured more than 10,000 spectators and this year’s them is “Stars & Stripes Forever.” Tom Hanson, who championed the founding of a NAMI (National Alliance for Mental Illness) chapter in the Wood River Valley, will be grand marshal.
Want to support the Hailey Fireworks Fund? Go to https://www.gofundme.com/haileyjulyfourth.
“If everyone gave just a little, we could easily fund the fireworks,” said Geegee Lowe, a volunteer for The Chamber.