re-posted for cindyg31696:

Has any one done this type of event, successfully and is willing to share how they did it? We are wanting to do one this year in conjunction with an outdoor movie night (renting one of those big inflatable screens). But, we have no idea how to do the chili part. I'd love some ideas, suggestions, etc. Thanks.

We love our chili cook off -- we do it every fall. Here's what we do: Families can submit a recipe/chili. They pay an contest fee: $5. We ask that they bring the chili to the cookoff in a large crockpot with a ladle, include an ingredient card. We hold the night in our school caf.
For judges we get teachers and administrators. Last year we got a baseball player from our minor league team and that was a big draw. For bowls and spoons we got donations from local supermarkets.We asked our hospitality committee to provide breads and desserts. We charged a $10 a family admission. We had some members of our HS band provide entertainment. One last thing we do to raise money is have each grade put together a basket that we raffle off. This brings in a lot of money. Keep in mind that our school does not do an auction. One detail thing we learned the hard way is to ask people to bring their own power strips and extension cords.

The whole event is a blast. Hope this helps.