The number above is for events held at Fiesta Gardens. In past years free admission has been given to festivalgoers who donate school supplies. While spring is the season most noted for wildflowers, fall also offers a palette of flora that can be just as spectacular. One of the best places to enjoy the fall show is at the LBJ park. This is one of the top chili-cooking contests in the nation, and more than 400 teams come here on the third weekend in September, hoping to qualify for the international chili cookoff in Terlingua, Texas.
Chili cooking involves a great deal of theater and some mystery ingredients.
Anyone with a delicate constitution planing on sampling the contestants' offerings should pack some antacid. In addition to the theatrical antics of the cookoff participants, there is a carnival for children, a beauty pageant, a Harley-Davidson show and plenty of country music. The civic center is at Exit 201 on I-35, south of Austin. Additional admission is charged for the beauty pageant and the musical shows. May. Gillespie County Fair Fairgrounds, Texas Hwy.