Annual Similkameen Sizzle set to turn up the heat Saturday

Sizzling in the Similkameen

Allison Markin - Sep 18, 2024 / 11:00 am | Story: 507230

Photo: Contributed

Sliding into September, and wedged between busy summer events and impending fall harvest gatherings, the Similkameen Sizzle returns to Memorial Park in Keremeos this Saturday, and it’s quickly becoming a signature early autumn celebration for this stunning valley.

The Sizzle is a day full of activities and is Canada’s only hot pepper festival. Organizers describe this year’s festival as “hotter than ever.”

"We encourage folks from out of town to make a weekend trip of it – there’s so much to explore in our beautiful valley. Come for the Sizzle and stay to discover everything else the Similkameen has to offer,” said festival organizer Vanessa Schwoegler-Abbott of the Similkameen Country Development Association in a recent media release.

Breakfast and food options are scheduled to begin at 7:30 a.m., then the full schedule kicks off at 10 a.m. with the Sizzle Market, featuring local products, fresh produce, crafts, and more. With 45 vendors to explore, you’ll find something to spice up your life. Maybe get an early start on holiday shopping?

Anyone who’s a fan of the show Hot Ones may want to pay close attention to the hot sauce contest scheduled for noon. You’ll find a bottle or recipe or two to level up your spicy wings at home. You can enter your sauce right up until 11 a.m.

But true aficionados of culinary heat may consider entering the “sear factor” contest at 3:30 p.m. You must be at least 19-years-old to enter (sign up on site at the event) to test your taste buds against increasingly hot raw peppers. It’s not for the faint of heart and always a crowd pleaser.

Sample local wine, ciders and spirits during Sip & Sizzle with the Similkameen Independent Winegrowers from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the beverage garden, and take note of producers and tasting rooms you may want to visit. The full beverage garden will be open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Food trucks will be on site from 2 p.m., and you may find a hot pepper jelly, salsa or spice rub to pair with a newly discovered Similkameen sip as you wander the park while listening to live music and enjoying the many activities happening all day.

Fun and family-friendly, with plenty of playful options for the kids, entrance to the Similkameen Sizzle is free.

The schedule and event updates can be found online here and on Facebook.

A fun fact: There are more than 200 varieties of peppers grown in the region. It’s no wonder it sizzles.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.

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About the Author

A creative thinker with more than two decades of experience in communications, Allison is an early adopter of social and digital media, bringing years of work in traditional media to the new frontier of digital engagement marketing through her company, All She Wrote.

She is the winner of the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association's 2011 and 2012 awards for Social Media Initiative, an International LERN award for marketing, and the 2014 Penticton Chamber of Commerce Business Excellence Award for Hospitality/Tourism.

Allison has amassed a following on multiple social networks of more than 30,000, frequently writes and about social media, food and libations as well as travel and events, and through her networks, she led a successful bid to bring the Wine Bloggers Conference to Penticton in June 2013, one of the largest social media wine events in the world, generating 31 million social media impressions, $1 million in earned media, and an estimated ongoing economic impact of $2 million.

In 2014, she held the first Canadian Wine Tourism Summit to spark conversation about the potential for wine tourism in Canada as a year-round economic driver.

Allison contributes epicurean content to several publications, has been a judge for several wine and food competitions, and has earned her advanced certificate from the Wine and Spirit Education Trust.

In her spare time, she has deep, meaningful conversations with her cats.

She can be reached at [email protected]

The views expressed are strictly those of the author and not necessarily those of Castanet. Castanet does not warrant the contents.

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