This summer, the streets of downtown Williamsport may be lined with spectators watching teams vie for bragging rights to the best chili in the city.
At least that is the vision of Main Streets Lycoming.
Tentatively set for the first Saturday in August, the program, an off-shoot of the Our Towns organization, is planning a chili cook-off and Texas horseshoe tournament.
"The event is the spectacle," Bill Henderson, of Main Streets Lycoming, said. "Enthusiasts prepare a pot of chili on-site while spectators watch the show teams compete."
The chili competition likely will involve multiple categories to accommodate a wide array of chili styles in two divisions - professional and amateur.
Texas horseshoes, also called washers, is a pitching game in which participants toss washers into a box with holes in it to score points.
Henderson said it will be a community building event and an opportunity to raise funds for the Main Streets program.
The grant-funded program's mission is to revitalize downtown business districts throughout the county, but it is reaching the last of its funding, he said.
Overall, Henderson believes the event will be a fun way for community members to come out to support the program and help drive foot traffic to downtown businesses and restaurants.
Main Streets still is working out the specifics of the event, but the program hopes to provide a family-oriented day with music, food and activities for people of all ages.
Henderson also said the event will be an opportunity to reach out to those who are new to the community, especially those who moved here because of the Marcellus Shale drilling.
"We hope to appeal to the gas workers," he said. "We want to give them a warm Williamsport welcome and a taste of what the city has to offer."
Hoping to pick up momentum from the First Friday events held downtown, Henderson said Main Streets wants people to discover all that downtown has to offer.
