Wiltshire Chilli Fest draws thousands to Westbury High Street

THOUSANDS of people flocked to Westbury High Street on Saturday to enjoy the hottest event the county has to offer – the Wiltshire Chilli Fest!

A record-breaking crowd of 3,500 chilli enthusiasts sampled a mouthwatering variety of chillis, fiery sauces and artisan chilli products from the 35+ stallholders and were entertained by Jamma de Samba, Mariachi Wey and students from Matravers who serenaded festival goers throughout the day.

One of the festival’s most anticipated highlights was the popular Chilli Eating Competition, hosted by none other than the renowned UK Chilli Queen herself, Shahina Waseem with contestants braving an escalating heat scale of chillis to the delight of the large crowd.

Events manager at Westbury Town Council, Ryan Child, said, “Around 3,500 people came to the High Street and the street was rammed all day! In previous years the Chilli Fest has had a few quieter moments, but this was full throttle throughout which was amazing to see in Westbury.

“To bring this kind of vibrancy to the town is exactly what Westbury Town Council is looking to achieve with these kinds of events and it seems to get bigger and better each year.

“Highlights of the day included Jamma de Samba and Mariachi Wey who were amazing and later on, the band members of Horses on the Beach all ate chillies before performing which was hilarious as the guitarist was really struggling and jumping up and down and the lead singer was sweating profusely – the crowd loved it!

“The chilli contest was a draw between Jason and Irene who really showed us all how to handle the heat. What was great also was seeing the businesses on the High Street get into the spirit of the day which really added to the atmosphere.

“A massive thank you to everyone that came down to enjoy the event and it wouldn’t have been so successful without the support of town councillors who volunteered their time and Honeystone Web Design who were our sponsors.”

The festival was organised by Westbury Town Council and was sponsored by Honeystone Web Design.