21st Annual Festival Geared To Foodies Who Like It Hot

LARGO, FL — For all those people who put hot sauce on their scrambled eggs at breakfast, order their bloody marys extra hot and consume whole habaneros a snack food, this is a festival for you.

Proclaimed the largest hot sauce festival in Florida, the 21st annual I Like It Hot Festival will take place this weekend at the Largo Event Center, 6340 126th Ave. N., Largo, with hot sauce makers from around the state competing to claim the trophy for best spicy concoction.

The two-day pet-friendly festival also features a pepper eating contest, amateur hot sauce, salsa and barbecue sauce competitions, a Spicy Lolly Lick-A-Thon, a hot hula-hoop contest, whip-cracking demonstrations and lessons from the Tampa Bay Whip Enthusiasts and live music.

The free festival will take place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.

Saturday Events

• Entries to the Amateur Hot Sauce Competition will be accepted from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday and the winner will be announced at 3 p.m.
• Entries to the pepper-eating contest will be accepted from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Saturday and the competition begins at 2 p.m.
• The Vendor's Hot Concoction Competition winner will be announced at 3 p.m.

Sunday Events

• Entries for the Amateur Salsa Competition will be accepted from 11 a.m. to noon Sunday and the winner will be announced at 3 p.m.
• Entries for the Amateur Barbecue Sauces Competition will be accepted from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and the winner will be announced at 3 p.m.
• The Hot Hula-Hoop Competition will take place at 1 p.m.
• The Spicy Lolly Lick-A-Thon will take place at 2 p.m.
• The Favorite Vendor Competition winner will be announced at 3 p.m.

Those attending will have a chance to taste a variety of hot sauces and salsas and vote for their favorites, sample an array of spice foods provided by a local food trucks, purchase live pepper plants and get tips from the experts on the perfect rub for ribs and spicing up bland meals.

Among the popular hot and barbecue sauce makers that have participated in the festival are:

• Intensity Academy Hot Sauces of Tampa, an all-natural gourmet hot sauce company that's won more than 55 national awards.
• Saucy Queen, aka Michele Northrup of Tampa.
• Chilihead Salsa of Sarasota, a previous winner of the Favorite Vendor Hot Concoction Competition.
• Catch-A-Fire Authentic Jamaican Gourmet of Clearwater, a previous winner of the Favorite Vendor Hot Concoction Competition.
• 3 Mile Sauce and Salsa of New Port Richey.
• Smokin' Mango Hot Sauce of Tampa.
• Urban Legend Bottling hot sauce.
• Red Hot Tiki Spicy Gourmet Market of Gulfport.
• Shark Attack Sauces of Tampa.
• Hot Rods Sauce Shack of Tampa, specializing in hot sauces, barbecue sauces and rubs.

The event is sponsored by Magic Plant Farms, specializing in organic peppers form around the world.