The North Carolina Hot Sauce Contest and Festival is one of the few places in North Carolina that require its participants to sign a waiver. What for? The Pepper Eating Contest, of course!
What better location to host the contest than a place whose motto is "Passion for Peppers"! This saying belongs to Bailey Farms, the sponsor, which is located right here in Granville County. Each year, their motto grows stronger as they share their passion with all who attend the festival.
The determined contestants are greeted on the stage with a bottle of water and a paper bag…just in case. As the first round begins, they dig into a large cayenne pepper–a mere 2,500 on the Scoville heat units (SU). For reference, they are 3x as hot as a banana pepper. This round only serves to weed out those who cannot handle the heat, as the peppers only get hotter from here. Skip to round 4, and you’ll be greeted with a serrano chile (10,000 SU), and if you make it through, you’ll be forced to devour an orange habanero in round 5 (20,000+ SU). That’s 180x hotter than a banana pepper! Then, at this point, it is habanero after habanero until only one is left standing. Be forewarned–some contests have gone 15+ rounds, putting both their mind and body to the ultimate test. So, if you’re the one who orders the hottest wings the restaurant has to offer, we invite you to come try your luck with the big boys. Did we also mention the winner gets $1,000 and a whole lot of bragging rights? If that’s not enough to entice you, I don’t know what is!
Although the pepper eating contest is the main attraction, the festival is also heavily centered around delicious food and the gathering of friends and family. It all started fourteen years ago when Julia Stovall Overton, owner of Stovall’s Gifts in Historic Downtown Oxford, held an event in her store that promoted North Carolina hot sauces. From there, the NC Hot Sauce Contest and Festival was born, and has since stretched over a whopping 16 city blocks in downtown Oxford. The festival grew to 15,000 people in 2019, as it started to gain lots of popularity. To formally recognize the success of this event, the North Carolina General Assembly came together and assigned every 2nd Saturday in September as North Carolina Hot Sauce Day. Now, Julia Overton is retired, and her store on Main has been renamed The Hub on Main. However, the main stage was named in her honor, and the store still serves as the central focal point of the festival.
This festival is a foodie’s heaven! Enjoy hot sauces, barbeque sauces, and a large array of North Carolina’s mouthwatering products and cool treats. All you need to do is walk the streets of Downtown Oxford, and you will be met by numerous booths and food trucks ready to offer you tastings. It’s perfect for the little ones too, as they can indulge in different tastes, smells, and fun!
The talented bands and craftsmen perform all throughout the day and into the evening, giving you a chance to dance off the great food right in the middle of Main Street. Make sure to enhance your fun by checking out the arts & crafts fair, breweries, wineries, kids’ activities, local restaurants, and shops nearby! Now you can say you’ve had a day full of unique experiences that haven’t taken you far from home.
This one-of-a-kind event in Oxford is less than an hour away from the Raleigh Durham area. The day will feature over 200 vendors selling sauces, food, and goods throughout the streets of downtown. You will be sure to fall in love after trying the delicious sauce flavor combinations, as well as those in the running for honors such as N.C.’s Hottest and Most Unique. When you leave, take home your favorites to share with friends later!
For more information on this Uniquely Carolina event, visit www.nchotsaucecontest.com
**ENTER FOR A CHANCE TO WIN A "LET’S GET SAUCY" GIFT BASKET the day before the event and on the day of the event.
CLICK HERE for NC HOT SAUCE GIVEAWAY!
Click HERE for a event map.
Click HERE for a list of vendors.