Sertoma Chili Cookoff

This last weekend I went to Springfield, to spend time with the Hubs, but also to attend the Sertoma Chili Cookoff. This is a fundraiser event with tons of chili. You pay a flat fee to get in and then sample chili from as many booths as you can fit in your stomach. They give you a little styrofoam cup (maybe 1/2 cup size?) and a spoon and refill it at every booth.

My favorite chili every year is the firemen's chili. I think they put molasses in it. The firemen and policemen had booths right across from each other, and had competitive t-shirts on. The police shirts said "Firefighters aren't that cool. The water does all the work" and the firemen shirts said "God made firemen so cops have heroes"

My BFF and me!

My BFF found a chili that had peanut butter in it. Genius idea since I'm always dipping a peanut butter sandwich in my chili!

The people working the booths get really into it (see costumes above and below)

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Post Secret

Last night, I went to see Post Secret with a couple friends. Post Secret is this website where people send in artistic, anonymous post cards with their deepest secrets. I wasn't really sure what to expect from a live show, and was honestly a little let down.

I guess I was expecting it to be skit-like, with different people reading postcards that were sent in, but it was mostly Frank Warren talking about how Post Secret started. He printed up 3,000 postcards that were blank on one side and gave directions on the other side, and passed them out on the streets of D.C. Then he posted them to the website.

He talked a lot about suicide prevention, which I believe is his goal with his tour. He had microphones set up at the edge of the theater so people could share their own secrets. Mostly people said how they never felt good enough for their parents, but one guy proposed to his girlfriend (and she said yes).

He encouraged us to come up with and pursue our own crazy idea. He pointed out a website called ifoundyourcamera.net. The person who created the website gets lost digital photos emailed to him, then posts the photos to his blog and (hopefully) returns the camera to its rightful owner.

The show was at the Gillioz Theater , an old theater that was recently restored to original condition. It reminds me a lot of the Fox Theater in St. Louis, though not as extravagant.

I tried to take a picture of one of the light fixtures but it didn't turn out so well...

 The Post Secret website operator, and author of several books, Frank Warren.

If you want to check out the website, go to www.postsecret.com

I think this archive is by the same guy, but I'm not sure. It looks completely different from the other website. I guess next week I should look and see if this week's postcards are on it?

I would like to go out more often with friends. I didn't even think about dressing up for tonight, but when I got to the Gillioz, many people were dressed up.

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