Live music, carnival games, skateboarding competitions, old friends, a ferris wheel and lots and lots of chili… sound familiar?
The Malibu Chili Cook-Off and Carnival is returning this fall for a four-day event scheduled to take place from Friday, Sept. 3, through Monday, Sept. 6, 2021. The annual event takes place over Labor Day Weekend each year in the Chili Cook-Off Lot, located at the corner of Stuart Ranch Road and Civic Center Way. This will be the first year the cook-off and carnival will last four days.
The event, which for its first 36 years was sponsored by the Malibu Kiwanis Club, has been put on by the Boys & Girls Club of Malibu since 2017. Last year it was forced to be canceled due to the pandemic.
“We’re excited to be able to resume this event … it’s an anticipated event this year for obvious reasons and we’re just excited to be able to host it,” Boys & Girls Club of Malibu Executive Director Kasey Earnest said during a Monday, July 19, Malibu Planning Commission hearing.
The commission voted, 3-2, to grant a permit for the event to proceed on its new, four-day schedule. There was one point of contention—parking and rideshare conflicts—which caused the hearing to drag on, with commissioners and at least one member of the public showing obvious frustration. Commissioner John Mazza suggested a mandatory shuttle. When no one supported the motion, Mazza said that when guests were killed at the event, another commissioner, David Weil, must pay for their funerals.