LONG BEACH – Join the fun on the Long Beach Peninsula on Sunday, Sept. 25, at the Great Peninsula Chowder Challenge, a friendly face-to-face chowder grudge match of area restaurant professionals.

The Peninsula Chowder Challenge is part of a Peninsula-wide end-of-summer weekend of festivities which include the Baker Bay Kayak/Canoe Race and the Beach-to-Chowder Challenge foot race.

The Chowder Challenge, to be held at the main SummerFest stage area, is open to Peninsula restaurant professionals who will vie for title of “Best Chowder on the Peninsula” as determined by a judged panel, as well as a public vote to decide the “People’s Choice.”

The Challenge is intended to show-off the tremendous food and food talent of the Peninsula. It is not a cooking event, but rather a judged contest. Participants will need to bring approximately 10 gallons of ready-to-serve chowder (no on-site cooking), a heat source (propane, sterno), and serving utensils. The event committee will supply the rest.

The sign-up form can be downloaded from the Visitors Bureau Web site at www.funbeach.com/events/ beachrun/index.htiril. Copies of the sign-up form can also be picked up or dropped off at Independent Books or Key Bank in downtown Long Beach, and at Ric’s Sign Shop in llwaco. Entries are limited, with room for only 12 contestants, so restaurants are encouraged to sign-up as soon as possible.

The beneficiaries of this great Peninsula event will be the racers in the Beach-to-Chowder Challenge foot race, as well as the Peninsula public, who are welcome to come taste, and vote for their favorite. To make this a truly family affair, games and contests for the kids, and entertainment are in the planning as well.

Additional information about the end-of-summer weekend funfest will appear in future editions of the Chinook Observer. To obtain additional information regarding the Peninsula Chowder Challenge, restaurant professionals should contact Gayle Borchard at 642-8561, Sherry Hash at 642-3684, or Chris Jacobsen 642-8843.