Community members enjoyed a chili cooking contest, chili samples, pumpkin decorating, rock climbing, live music, food vendors and artisan vendors at Homewood Fall Fest on Martin Avenue and Kroner Road on the afternoon and evening of Saturday, Oct. 11.

The village of Homewood organized Fall Fest. Attendees sampling chili or decorating pumpkins were asked to make $5 donations to Spotlight Performance Academy in Homewood. The Bel Canto Choir, which is part of Spotlight Academy, operated the donation booths.

Twenty local chili makers served homemade chili on tables under white tents. 

Homewood caterer Toyia McWilliams, who was wearing chili earrings, won first place for her three-meat chili.

“I’m very proud of myself,” McWilliams said. “Of course, you always have that self-doubt going in, but to have won, this is big for me.”

Flossmoor resident Jill Nozar-Hacket was awarded second place for her beef and pork chili. Homewood resident Chuck Mokijewski came in third for his beef chili.

Homewood Mayor Rich Hofeld announced the winners and shook their hands. Homewood village events coordinator Marla Youngblood put award necklaces around their necks.

The musical acts Third Coast, Southtown Soul & Groove and Breakfast Club performed on the same stage as the award ceremony.

Kids and parents lined up in front of the Gottschalk House to decorate pumpkins. The pumpkins were about the size of a pie pumpkin but had larger stalks. They rested on haystacks against green fencing if not yet decorated.

The village set up tables with various stickers for attendees to decorate their pumpkins. An attendee donated $2 to Spotlight Performance Academy for each pumpkin they decorated and took home. The Bel Canto Choir operated the pumpkin-decorating tables.

Steger resident Lindsay DePasquale attended the festival with her son, Elias Boswell, who climbed the rock-climbing wall.

“Not only do they have great vendors here, but it’s so family-friendly. Everyone’s so kind and the kids have a ball,” DePasquale said.

Nearly 20 food and drink vendors were present, including Crumbl Cookies, D’s Cookie Dough, Jauncho’s Tacos, Twisted Q, Homewood Brewing Co. and Domino’s Pizza.

Bergstein’s NY Deli, located within the festival boundaries, had a special Fall Fest menu featuring pulled pork and chips with chili and cheese. Although the deli usually closes at 3 p.m. on Saturdays, its hours were extended into the evening.

There were dozens of vendors selling artwork, stickers, decorations, jewelry, soaps, beauty products, boutique T-shirts, baked goods, homemade tea, local honey and handcrafted candles.

Sarah Rivers Armstrong, a Homewood resident, sold organic herbal tea and blank leatherette journals with classic literature book covers, like she did at Homewood Art & Garden Street Fair in June. New to her table were jars of local honey that Armstrong got from a beekeeper friend of hers.

Hannah Bee Honey, a local honey business in Frankfort, sold jars of local honey. Hannah Stroh of Hannah Bee Honey distributed pamphlets explaining how eating local honey can improve allergies since it’s made from local plants and flowers.

Homewood artist Gabriella Siegmeyer, also known as Rainbow’s Arts, sold original artwork, prints and stickers of her colorful illustrations. She said much of her artwork is inspired by anime, especially magical girl series like Sailor Moon.

One of Siegmeyer’s stickers had the transgender flag colors and the slogan, “I’ll go with you.” She said this was meant literally, not figuratively, and referred to cisgender people accompanying transgender individuals into the bathroom to keep them safe.

Jacob Kiefor, a Saint John resident who paints doormats and silk screens T-shirts, was at Homewood Fall Fest. Since he was a vendor at Homewood Art & Garden Street Fair last year, he added two new shirts to his inventory, a dancing skeleton with snow coming from its hands and a crumbling brick wall with the slogan “break stereotypes.”

Kiefor, who has Down syndrome, said that “break stereotypes” to him means breaking through stereotypes and showing the world who he is through his art.