2025 Frank X. Tolbert–Wick Fowler Original Terlingua International Championship Chili Cook‑Off
Back in the 80s when I first started pilgrimaging to Terlingua for what we just called ‘The Wick’ the little dusty mining town was a mite different. There were zero airbnbs, you could buy a nice-sized plot of land for a couple thousand bucks and entering or leaving nearby Mexico was as simple as hopping on a raft or wading the Rio Grande.
The honor system was in place.
Nowadays things have radically changed but ‘The Wick’ remains the same. Roll up on the high mesa, pitch a tent, build a campfire and you’ll make more friends in three days than you might in three years anywhere else on the planet.
I can’t make it out there this year but if you go here’s what you need to know:
The dates for the 2025 edition are October 29 through November 1, 2025
Here’s where you’ll find the cook off: 22970 FM 170 Terlingua, TX 79852
Admission is $40 and its worth every penny [the lion’s share of the money goes to ALS research]
There will be plenty live music: Nathan Colt Young Band, Thomas Michael Riley, Billy King and the Bad Bad Bad, Quaker City Night Hawks, Presley Haile, Django Walker, Gary P. Nunn, West Texas Exiles, Kensie Coppin, The Moonshiners, and Los Pinche Gringos.
Ol’ Gary P. will absolutely set the desert on fire for this particular show [as he always does]
Once you set up camp just meander around amongst other like-minded folks. You can’t walk 50 feet without somebody trying to hand you a can of Pearl or a chicken leg off a smoker.
Make sure and report back.