Events: Sutter Creek – Chili Cook Off & Car Showinnlight2019-04-19T20:41:25-07:00

Sutter Creek Events

Sutter Creek Chili Cook-Off and Car Show
Sunday, October 13, 2019

The Annual Great Sutter Creek Chili Cook-Off and Car Show is a classic small town event, with the perfect backdrop, the historic gold rush buildings of Sutter Creek.

Historic Main Street is closed off for the day when the cars and chili vendors take over. Almost 100 classic cars and hot rods fill one end of town, while chili teams fill the opposite end.

Music fills the air, as people sample the homemade chili and salsa at each booth and then vote for their favorite.

The Great Sutter Creek Chili Cook off is always on the second Sunday of October and goes from 9am-3pm (cars) and 11am – 3pm (chili).

This event is FUN and FAMILY FRIENDLY!

Admission Fee
The Car Show is free to wander and admire and is open from 9am to 3pm. Chili tasting is from 11am – 3pm. Chili Tasting is a $10.00 entry for adults and $5.00 for children. Includes wristband for unlimited tasting (or until the chili runs out) cup, spoon, napkin and ballot.

Participation Requirements
To enter as a Chili Team is FREE. There is a $25 space deposit fee that is refunded if the team shows up, cleans up, and brings 6 or more gallons of chili. Car Entry is $20.

Get Involved

Click here for Chili Cook-Off Application
Click here for Chili Cook-Off Regulations
Click here for Chili-Salsa Hand Wash Station Diagram
Click here for Chili Team FAQs
CAR SHOW ENTRY FORM – Car Show Information and Application
Contact the Sutter Creek Visitor Center 209-267-1344.

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Best Salsa 2011

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“Although John Sutter’s sawmill was about forty miles away, Sutter Creek is in the heart of the California Gold Country. Sutter made camp here, trying to avoid the gold rush crowds, but miners soon spilled in and made the town. Mining boomed and then faded…making way for today’s contagion: wine fever. In and around Sutter Creek you can mosey along sidewalks shaded by filigreed balconies.” – New York Times 36 Hours

Yesterday & Today

The town derives it’s name Sutter Creek after John Sutter. Sutter as early as 1844, had in pursuit of timber, established whipsawing pits and an outdoor manufacturing business named Pine Woods. It was this area near the creek, which runs behind City Hall, that became the site of new and permanent settlement. It is told the settlement started because of a single tent raised there for miners to use on rainy Sundays when they could not get to Jackson or Drytown. Sutter Creek truly established itself permanently when Gold quartz was discovered in 1851 and the became a major supply center.

Among other notable historic landmarks like Knight Foundry and the nearby Kennedy Mine, visitors should take some time to enjoy the historic wine country surrounding Sutter Creek. Wine production in the area dates back one hundred fifty years, when pioneers seeking their fortunes in gold found the ideal climate for growing wine grapes. Today Amador County boasts over 25 wineries and is famous for its red Zinfandels.