The Austin Chronicle 2020 Hot Sauce (At-Home) Festival

What began as a small hot sauce contest in 1990 has grown into the largest competition of its kind and one of Austin’s largest and best-known annual food events, drawing as many as 10,000 spectators and over 350 entries each year. Serving as a major fundraiser for the Central Texas Food Bank, The Austin Chronicle Hot Sauce Festival raised over 95,000 meals in 2019 alone and has raised 975,000 meals in its 29 year history. This year, The Austin Chronicle Hot Sauce Festival is shifting gears as the safety of our hot sauce-loving fans is a top priority.

The sauce must go on! The highly anticipated 30th annual installment of our pepper-filled event will look a little different this year. In lieu of the in-person festival, we’re asking Austinites to join us at home for the 2020 Hot Sauce Festival benefiting the Central Texas Food Bank on Sunday, August 30th.

The Austin Chronicle will host a virtual event featuring winner announcements for commercial bottler categories, music, videos, and much more!

To experience the virtual event at home, participants can purchase their very own Hot Sauce Tasting Kits, which include samplings from a variety of local bottlers, all-new Hot Sauce merch, and more!

More information to come! Check back for updates and stay tuned on our social channels @austinchronicle and @chronevents.

Do you have a special Hot Sauce memory to share? We want to hear your stories! Submit them here and you may be featured in The Austin Chronicle Hot Sauce Issue - on stands August 28.

Donate to the Central Texas Food Bank

Photo by David Brendan Hall

Your donation will officially register you for the 30th Annual Virtual Hot Sauce Festival and make you eligible to earn perks from local Austin businesses!