Are you a little bit of a masochist? You might need to make a trip to the 19th Annual I Like It Hot! festival, Florida's largest hot sauce festival, which goes down September 14-15 at Minnreg Hall in Largo.
Want to test your strength? Throw your hat in the ring for contests like the a pepper eating contest, Voodoo Chicken Bones challenge, Hot Hula Hoop contest and an Extreme Lolly Lick-A-Thon. Sounds painful.
An amateur hot sauce, salsa and BBQ sauce competitions are also on the agenda along with less-spicy competitive challenges like the frozen T-shirt competition and overall favorite vendor competitions.
Admission is only $5, and kids under 12 getting in free. At least one of us in this newsroom would pay $5 to see kids eat hot sauce, honestly. Parking is free and you can listen to live music while you sweat through your shirt. The festival runs Saturday from 10 a.m.-5 p.m., and Sunday 11 a.m.-4 p.m.
For more information, visit ilikeithotfestival.com. Find Minnreg Hall at 6340 126th Ave. N. in Largo.
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This article appears in Sep 12-19, 2019.