BATH

With Bath Heritage Days celebrations underway, popular festival events are back, including the 13th annual Chili Chowder Fest, scheduled to take place Sunday, July 5.

The event, hosted by the Bath Youth Meetinghouse and Skate Park, invites festival goers to sample a variety of chili, as well as fish and clam chowder, and vote for their favorite dishes.

Voters will be entered into a drawing for prizes, which include gifts from local cookware store Now You’re Cooking.

Judges will also rate the dishes and determine who will receive the Judge’s Award.

A.J. Reno, general manager of the park, said the event started the first summer after the skate park opened in 2002.

“It’s an event that showcases the best of the Mid-coast restaurants and their support for us,” he said. “It helps them get their name out there, and that’s what we’re all about — helping out the restaurants in the communities.”

He said the festival draws anywhere between 300 and 500 people and raises about $6,000 to $10,000 for the organization.

All proceeds will go towards supporting the meetinghouse and the park, which may contribute to repairs, upgrades and other services to continue creating a safe environment for the youth in the community.

“Just being able to keep the doors open for (the teens) is the most important thing,” said Reno.

Several downtown businesses will be contributing dishes for Sunday’s event, including Solo Bistro, Mae’s Cafe, Byrne’s Irish Pub, J.R. Maxwell’s, as well as other local restaurants in the area.

Reno added that six local police and fire departments in the community will also be contributing their own chili dishes for the event.

The festival will take place on 23 Summer Street, across from Library Park from 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for children under the age of 11. Children under the age of six will be admitted for free.

More information about the event can be found at bathskatepark.com or bathheritagedays.com. dkim@timesrecord.com