2012 Weekend of Fire Information

The 6th Annual Weekend of Fire show was the very first fiery food event I ever attended as a blogger. I did a little on the spot reporting from the show to TastetheFear.com (TTF) via my phone. Back in 2007 it wasn’t as easy as it is today with the latest smartphones, and took me a couple of tries before the messages were sent in full. It was this little show reporting that got me a gig as a writer and reviewer for TTF. Through that opportunity and many more meetings and greetings at various shows I some how ended up here with my little blog. The last 6 years has been so much fun, and I look at the Weekend of Fire as the place where it all began with such cherished memories. I have attended every show, and although because of choice it might be my last, I feel the Weekend of Fire has brought our community closer with the Blogger’s Booth, a creation by the original show promoter, Bret Vitek.

The Blogger’s Booth was created in the 2nd year as a hangout for the bloggers who came from all over the country to hangout and share their love of all things spicy. TTF was the force behind it, and even though TTF is now in limbo, many of us, me included, come to reacquaint ourselves with the people in our community who have continued the tradition of hanging out and sharing via the internet with others not fortunate enough to be there. It is at the Blogger’s Booth where us chileheads get to name the best at the show. It is an honor bestowed to us from the organizers of the show who deem our opinion worthy of one of their special awards. It is presented at the tail end of the show on Sunday along with the People’s Choice Awards called the WOFI’s. Shaped like a Fire Hydrant it is a rather special honor to be nominated by the people that attend the show.

Beyond the Blogger’s Booth and Award presentation lies an action packed show. It seems by the schedule there is little room to blink with all that is going on for the 2 day show. Look at the Schedule:

Due note the Heartbreaking Dawns Brownie Brawl Buster is back now in it’s 3rd year, and ILoveItSpicy once again will be co-sponsoring it with Johnny, and we have a special trophy for 1st place, along with great prizes as well from HBD.  Since Patter Fams will not be at the show this year it looks like our PB & J Stackdown has been replaced by a Crazy Uncle Jester version.  I was not contacted about this, so we have no connection with this one.  Tis a shame when you create a unique contest and it is just given away to another vendor without even asking about it.  I have no ill-will to my friend, Jester, but I question the organizers of the show in handling this particular contest that I created with Patter Fams.  I digress. 

Also not in attendance is Defcon Sauces which had orchestrated the great Defcon Deathmatch Championship over the last 5 years with much fanfare and in doing so, Steve “The Machine” Smallwood entered into our lives.  Without the Deathmatch, we might not have ever had the privilege of seeing the Machine break the ghost pepper eating record and establish a new one for the Trinidad Scorpion pepper at Peppers at the Beach this past year.  Without the Deathmatch, I would not have been lucky enough to meet and hang with Steve who I would call a good-hearted friend. The Creator and Createss, John and Maggie Dilley will be in a Chili Cook-off event in WV instead, where a throng of 10’s of thousands will be passing along their booth, numbers they could not pass up.  They both will be surely missed, as well as their spectacle which was their show booth.  It won’t be the same. I wish them the best at their event.

Taking the Deathmatch’s spot is another by Crazy Uncle Jester called the WOF Wing King.  Speaking with the Crazy One on the phone I got the lowdown for this wing eating challenge.  It might make the Deathmatch look like a walk in the park when all said and done.  Here is what is in store for those brave enough to sit down at the table.

Round 1- 10 wings made with Jester’s Wing & a Prayer sauce which is a combination of their Brushfire BBQ, Select Reserve and a little of the Habanero Concentrate called the Jester.  For those of you that do not recall the story, at the 2011 Zestfest show, Sir McMillan of Chile Pepper Magazine was judging the sauces, got a wee bit too much of the Jester & paramedics had to be called in to assist Sir with his overdose of this evil extract sauce.  The 1st 10 to complete their plate of wings advances to Round 2.

Round 2- 10 more wings using their Triple X Wing Sauce which is a lot more of the Jester to the batch.  The 1st 5 people to complete their wings will advance to Round 3.

Round 3- Triple X & the Crazy Uncle Jester 11 Chile Chile Pepper Seasoning/Rub which comprises of some of the hottest peppers in the world, very hot but quite favorable I was told.  The 1st one done is the WOF Wing King.  I do hope they have buckets available for this one, its going to be crazy.

Another event that will certainly draw much attention is the last event of the show on Sunday.  It is called the “Feast of Fire”, and it is shrouded in mystery.  From the website, this is what it says about this new challenge:

“The Feast of Fire is the contest to end all contests. This is the reason the Arena of Fire was constructed. A fitting end to a weekend of contests, The Feast of Fire will challenge the competitiors like no other contest. The brave souls will have to eat a “four course meal” of increasingly volatile and formidable dishes, and trust me, you won’t want seconds of dessert. The winner will be the first to clear his or her plate entirely and then survive the afterburn. Will it be too much? Will there even be a winner this year? Find out Sunday afternoon at the Weekend of Fire.”

Now that sounds like a party to attend. Since it is run by Jungle Jim’s, I am wondering if the chef/creator behind the scene really knows how to kick up a meal? For those that ever attended CaJohn’s Asian Dinner knows what a kicked up dining experience can really be. If it is something like that, and it did not rely so much on time, it might be something I might be interested in. Then again I have a very long ride home the next day, and I do not want to have an emergency stop in the mountains of West Virginia on my way back. I can hear the banjo music now as I am hunched over grabbing wet, cold leaves to cleanse my derriere. Too much info? All right let us move on.

They eliminated the one year trial of the BBQ Alley. An experiment killed mostly by the frigid cold weather that blew into town during the event. Tis a shame, it was a noble idea, but maybe a little tweaking, and they could bring it back and move the show to another level with vendors outside as well as inside. Something that was hinted at last year, but never got passed the rumor stages. With the opening of the new Jungle Jim’s Eastgate store on the 25th of September, they had a lot to organize and it is possible that some things had to be dropped because of the overwhelming tasks that lay ahead of them with this huge undertaking. With that said, the Weekend of Fire is never short of entertaining, and I look forward to being there once again.

Pictured below is the floor plan on the Oscar Event Center at Jungle Jim’s International Market. Below that is the corresponding vendors that are located by number on the map. Print it out, circle your favorites and come on down. It will be a hoot and a half. Please note where the Blogger’s Booth is and come by to say hello and mingle with us. Don’t be shy, all are welcome. I hear Scott Roberts will be there, and will be signing autographs for the first 100 people that ask. So you better come early if you want one.

Event Date & Time:
Saturday, October 6, 2012 from 11am – 8pm
Sunday, October 7, 2012 from 11am – 5pm
Location:
The Oscar Event Center at Jungle Jim’s International Market
5440 Dixie Highway
Fairfield, OH 45014
513-674-6055

I also wanted to remind everyone of the Open House gathering on Monday from 11am-2pm at Nick Ney’s Cajun Island restaurant in the Columbus, OH area. For information please refer to the post I put up the other day thanks to Scott Roberts. CLICK HERE