Mission Viejo’s Mamita Lupita and Sherman Oaks’ T’s Hot Sauce win Best Chili at down-to-earth Labor Day event. Local “Big Bob” wins car raffle, and the Henn Family Band wins the city song contest.
By Michael Aushenker / Special to The Malibu Times
Sunday at the 30th annual Malibu Kiwanis Chili Cook-Off and Carnival turned out to be a casual, star-studded affair, as emcee Dick Van Dyke enjoyed the penultimate concert before taking the stage to do hosting duties, a seated Nick Nolte relaxed on a bale of hay, singer Pink bought food at Sausage King, and hordes of paparazzi descended on a departing Leann Rimes and Eddie Cibrian, as Tori Spelling and husband Dean McDermott supervised their children inside.
Overall, all attendees enjoyed the day sans fuss, because the Chili Cook-Off, on Civic Center Way and Stuart Ranch Road, is ultimately an unpretentious, small-town, family fun affair.
City Councilmember Lou La Monte and Mayor Pro Tem Laura Rosenthal shared announcement duties during the weekend.
Longtime Malibuite Van Dyke read the winning ticket on Sunday for the 2011 Mercedes-Benz C300 give-away. The ticket-0094-was simply marked “Bob,” which stirred up a mystery worthy of “Diagnosis: Murder.” When the winner of the Mercedes was identified as local lawyer “Big Bob,” who already owned a Mercedes and a Porsche, Van Dyke remembered how last year the car giveaway winner pulled up in a Rolls Royce.
“That ain’t fair!” he said.
“God bless Malibu!” one Kiwanis member responded.
Van Dyke appeared onstage Sunday following the musical introduction of “Bert” from “Mary Poppins,” performed by the OLM Musical Theatre Company Ensemble. The child singers also joined the longtime Malibu resident in a rendition of “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” and “Let’s Go Fly a Kite.”
“It gets better every year!” Van Dyke told The Malibu Times, admitting that he had not tasted any of the winning chili because, he said, “The first year I was a judge … I couldn’t taste anything for two weeks!”
One of Malibu Times Magazine’s Most Elegible bachelor’s, McKade Marshall, read off the Chili Cook-Off winners. Saturday’s People Choice Award went to Black Diamond, who served up a cinnamon-flavored concoction, while Mamita Lupita won 1st place and Malibu Rugby Club 2nd place for Best Chili. On Sunday, the People’s Choice went to Cherrystone’s Chili, while Best Chili went to 1st place winner T’s Hot Sauce and 2nd place winner Malibu Wine.
Mission Viejo’s Mamita Lupita enjoyed swift business on Sunday. “This is our first year here,” said Mamita’s Linda Back, who sold their New Mexico chili made from beans harvested only once a year.
Chili wasn’t the only draw this year. Nipa Daruty’s Sausage King Gourmet Sausages booth, where the Lancaster business sold giant-sized, sunburned-colored Polish dogs, attracted the likes of actor Gary Busey, actress Tori Spelling and pop singer Pink.
By the rides, a very pregnant Spelling told The Malibu Times that she had returned to the Chili Cook-Off for the first time in years.
“I used to come here as a kid!” the “Beverly Hills 90210” actress said. “I wanted to bring my children here. It’s my second day in a row here. We had a great time!”
Contestants of the Malibu city song contest performed their numbers on Sunday (except for absentee singer Shaunna L. Zeidler, whose song, “We Love You, Malibu,” was represented by CD).
Live from New Zealand, Holly Christina performed “Hey, Malibu” and the Henn Family Band performed their winning song, “Malibu, I Love You,” twice. Band member Kathy Henn revealed that she is the sister of Daryl “Captain” Dragon of Captain & Tennille fame. Other members had connections to the Sun Rays and the Surf Punks.
This year’s Labor Day weekend tradition continued its annual mix of live music, rides, and kiosks without incident. “Friday and Sunday were the busiest days,” said an attending sheriff’s deputy, who added, “It’s been very quiet, to my knowledge.”
Daniel Eisner, 14, observed this year that, “There weren’t as many people doing actual chili as last year.”
Despite the dip in vendors, his mother, Lorelei Eisner, said she enjoyed T’s Hot Sauce’s vegan chili. She also stressed the importance of this event. “Let’s keep the tradition going,” she said. “It’s an excellent, very positive community event.”
Of course, beyond the chili vendors, there were other booths.
“It’s going very well,” Rabbi Levi Cunin of Chabad of Malibu, said. “It’s a nice time for the city to come together.”
Said Spelling of the fair, “It’s nice to think that things haven’t changed.”