If you’ve never attended a chili cook-off competition, you may not know that there are so many different ways to make chili. At a chili cook-off you’ll find chili of different colors, varying levels of spiciness and ingredients ranging from chicken to bacon to turkey and even venison. I wouldn’t even be surprised if there’s even some made with pumpkin flavoring.

If, like myself, you’ve lived a sheltered life and are accustomed to traditional chili recipes, Sunday, November 13 will be an opportune time to re-discover chili when the Fort Wayne Beard & Mustache Society will have their 3rd Annual Chili Cook-Off at the Brass Rail.

If you make a mean chili, then get it to the Rail between 3-3:30 p.m. that day and let folks test it out. The categories that you may enter are traditional, non-traditional, vegetarian/vegan and gluten-free. If you don’t have a recipe to enter, then for a $5 donation you can enjoy all the deliciousness you can eat. Throw in a PBR tall boy and that sounds like a good way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

The winner in each category will win $25, and a Best in Show will take home the grand prize of $50. Also, if you plan on coming to the event, bring along any unwanted winter gear, as they’ll be collecting for Street Reach for the Homeless. I’m not sure if my traditional chili would stand up in the competition, but I surely plan on stopping by to try everyone else’s. See you there and bring your appetite.

A name I haven’t heard much of lately is Duke Tumatoe. The 68-year-old guitarist/songwriter who used to play here frequently is maintaining a heavy touring schedule and will soon have his first studio release since 2010’s I Just Want to be Rich. Backed by his Power Trio, Duke will be performing about an hour south of us at the Key Palace Theatre in Redkey on Wednesday, November 23. That’s the night before Thanksgiving which means no work the next day for most of you, so there’s really no excuses for not making the trip. For a nice price of $20 you’ll enjoy an evening spanning a catalog that is as up and down as the Colts have been this season, I wouldn’t be surprised if he broke out his fan favorite “Lord Help Our Colts.”

Also that evening, Moser Woods and Exterminate All Rational Thought will pair up to perform at The Phoenix for a Thanksgiving pre-party. The all-ages show will dent your wallet just $5 and features not just two stellar local acts, but a light show by Newman’s Psychedelic Liquid Light Show. There will also be simultaneous dueling drum jams by Rick Kinney and Lucas Sigg. Sounds like a good time to me.