Would you trade $1,000 and a lifetime of glory for your taste buds? That’s the risk pepper eaters are willing to take in the totally fun, seriously HOT pepper eating contest planned for the 13th annual North Carolina Hot Sauce Festival.

Held annually on the second Saturday in September–which was recently designated as North Carolina Hot Sauce Day–the North Carolina Hot Sauce and Hot Pepper Eating Contest is returning for its 13th year–and promises to be bigger than ever. Starting at 11:00 am on Saturday, September 14, 2019, downtown Oxford, North Carolina, the festival will feature the largest gathering of BBQ sauce, hot sauce, pepper sauce, hot peppers and fiery foods in the state.

This outdoor festival takes over the entire downtown, and includes family-friendly activities, selected craft brews, local wares and boutique fare, live music, games, a pepper eating contest and block-after-block of must-sample food trucks. On the lineup for September 14th are crowd-pleasing bands Who Shot John and Love Tribe. Here is a sampling:

• Festival open from 11:00 am – 6:00pm
• Who Shot John Band 11:00 – 1:00pm at Main Stage
• Sauces Registered for Competition and Judging by 11:30am
  at the Hot Sauce Contest Stage on College Street
• Pepper Eating Contest starts 1:00 – 2:00 pm
  (must register at Pepper eating stage by 12:00pm to participate)
  (Win $1,000 first prize or $300.00 second prize…if you can stand the heat)
• Love Tribe Band 2:00 – 5:00pm at Main Stage
• Hot Sauce Winners Announced by Category 2:00pm
  winners announced hourly on the Hot Sauce Contest Stage
• Granville County Museum open from 11:00 – 6:00
• Granville Gardeners Plant Sale
• Activities for the kids on Williamsboro Street

Thru the help of other area sponsors, Oxford was able to welcome approximately 15,000 visitors to the festival last year. The City of Oxford will host over 200 vendors that are all here to sell, sample, and enter their special sauces in the hottest contest around.

North Carolina’s finest hot sauces and barbeque sauces, along with breweries and wineries spice up the blends and texture of downtown’s historical streets. Enter the NC Pepper Eating Contest sponsored by Bailey Farms. Bailey Farms is the "Pepper Eating" sponsor and the largest pepper producer/distributor on the eastern seaboard.

There are activities for children, local shops waiting to greet you and great restaurants, all at your fingertips. The North Carolina Hot Sauce Contest has transformed the community and the downtown into a "Smoking Hot Family Oriented Day" bringing thousands of people into Oxford. We hope you will come out and support this event.

HISTORY OF NORTH CAROLINA HOT SAUCE CONTEST

Thirteen years ago, Julia Overton, Owner of Stovall’s Gifts located at 100 Main Street in historic downtown Oxford, hosted an event in her store to promote North Carolina products, specifically hot sauces. From that event, the NC Hot Sauce Contest was born. Over the years, the Hot Sauce and Hot Pepper Elating Contest has grown to encompass the four main streets in downtown Oxford; College, Main, Hillsboro, and Williamsboro Streets. In recognition of the event and its success, the North Carolina General Assembly on March 19, 2009 adopted the 2nd Saturday in September as North Carolina Hot Sauce Day sponsored by Representative Crawford.

Each year the Hot Sauce Contest grows and adapts to the changing and growing community adding craft brews and area food-truck adding to its rich and flavorful history. The Downtown Economic Development Corporation and the City of Oxford are proud to acknowledge the "Hot Sauce Contest" as an important economic driver to Downtown Oxford’s current and future economy.