More than a dozen chili chefs faced off with their best chilis (top). Organizer Bob Fuchs (lower right) worked hard all day together with Val Myers, who oversaw awarding of the prizes, and John Baranowski (lower left), who acted as MC for the day. Don Fipps played "swimmer in distress" for a demonstration by the Del Mar Lifeguard Surf Rescue Team (middle panels)
Janice Kurth, Garrie Rhodes Karl Wagner (l-r, upper left) tended bar, Vice President Brett Mattei (with Deputy Chief Lifeguard Mark Rathsam) was there early in the morning for set-up (upper right), while Scott MacDonald, Miles Fleming, Patti Kurtz, and Val Myers took care of walk-up duck adoptions as well as food and drink sales
Kristin Brakespear, owner of Diamond Princess Parties was on hand to offer a great range of patterns for the kids. Conner Chunyk shows off the snake pattern he chose.
The Del Mar Lifeguards took out nearly 900 ducks to launch in the surf
The winning duck made it back to shore very quickly!
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Juniors and seniors (thanks Monty!) helped gather the ducks as they arrived on the beach
After all the ducks were gathered (that's Sharyn Daly's granddaughter Mason on the lower right) the Del Mar Lifeguards carried them back to the park
Our chili cookoff winners! Suzie Wagner with her white chicken chili was third most popular, Eric Nelte's "Capital Punishment" took second (second from left) and Randy Gruber (second from right), owner and chef of Del Mar's Americana restaurant, was first with his "6 Hour Chili" was voted best chili by attendees. John Baranowski (right) announced the winners.
Sharyn Daly and Bob Fuchs sorted ducks prior to launch (upper left), posing with the bean bag toss (upper right), Val Myers sorts the prizes (lower left), Monty Woolley signals his approval of the chilis (lower right)
We had a beautiful day on Saturday October 14, 2017 for the 6th annual Chili & Quackers chili cook-off and ducky derby. We had all different chili varieties- from mild to spicy, white to red, and chunky to smooth- there was one to satisfy every taste. Viewpoint Brewery provided their craft brews to wash down that chili. There were plenty of games for the kids in attendance, many of whom visited Kristin Brakespear’s face painting booth (Kristin is owner of DiamondPrincessParties and also teaches at Painting With a Twist in Rancho Bernardo). Dano’s Island Sounds provided steel drum music for the event.
At 2:30 around 900 ducks were at the beach ready for launch from a Del Mar Surf Rescue boat piloted by Del Mar Lifeguards. The ducks found their way to shore quickly and we were indebted to all the kids who helped us ensure that all our ducks got back home safely.
All attendees who purchased chili tastes were invited to vote for their favorite recipe. This year Randy Gruber, owner of Americana in Del Mar, with his “6 Hour Chili” was voted most popular. Eric Nelte’s “Capital Punishment” was second and Suzy Wagner’s white chili with chicken was third.
Special thanks go to organizer Bob Fuchs, for his tireless work on all aspects of the event, all our chili chefs, Brett Mattei for arriving so early for set-up, John Baranowski for serving as MC, Val Myers for coordinating the prizes, counting the votes, and overseeing the ticket booth, Patti Kurtz, Scott MacDonald and Miles Fleming for manning the ticket booth (Miles also volunteered to transport the slightly wet post-race ducks back home), Sharyn Daly for handling the rentals, Janice and Matt Kurth, Garrie Rhodes, and Karl Wagner for staffing the drink tent, and Boy Scout Troop 713 for help with the games.
This event was a great way for the Rotary Club of Del Mar to give back to the community and to raise the visibility of Rotary and our many projects, both local and international. Please see the club’s Facebook page for full-scale versions of these and other photos.