This international competition will bring chili, hot peppers and beer to Myrtle Beach

Myrtle Beach will become “a chili lover’s paradise” with an annual international cookoff headed to the city next year.

The 54th annual World Championship Chili Cookoff is slated to take place April 9-11, 2021, at the Burroughs and Chapin Pavilion Place, which is known for hosting the Carolina Country Music Festival.

The competition offers more than just a whole lot of chili. A “family fun zone” will be at the festival, along with a beer garden and live music. Guests can enter a hot pepper eating contest and have a hand in picking the most popular chili by voting in the People’s Choice Chili Competition, according to a news release from event organizers and the Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce.

The competition has a multitude of categories: traditional red chili, homestyle chili, chili verde and veggie chili. All categories also offer a youth competition, and a people’s choice competition is carried out each day of the event.

Organizers are looking forward to bringing the event to Myrtle Beach, noting the venue’s proximity to restaurants, amusement parks and the SkyWheel. More than 200 “Chiliheads” are expected at the competition, the release said.

“We could not be more excited about this venue,” President and CEO of the International Chili Society said in the release. “You just can’t ask for a better backdrop than South Carolina’s Atlantic Coast. There are numerous attractions and hotel options within walking distance or a short drive. We think Chiliheads are going to be impressed with this year’s event site and all that Myrtle Beach has to offer.”

Founded in 1967, the International Chili Society sanctions more than 100 events every year to bring people together over “one of America’s greatest culinary creations” and raise money for charities and nonprofits along the way.