Bristol PepperFest

09/17/2026

A big shoutout to all of our 2026 “Beat The Heat” Extreme Pepper Eating Challenge. This year’s competition was our toughest yet, with a great mix of "The Old Guard "and emerging talent stepping up to take on some serious heat.

As the Scoville levels climbed, so did the challenge—but this group powered through with plenty of determination, laughter, and encouragement for one another. In the end, the camaraderie and high spirits were every bit as impressive as their tolerance for the heat. Thanks to everyone who stepped up and made this year’s challenge such a memorable one!

Let's show these heat-eating warriors some PepperFest Fam respect!

[Photos courtesy of Hitman photography]

09/16/2026

A CLASH OF THE TITANS

PepperFest ’26 brought perhaps the most accomplished field we’ve ever assembled for our “Beat the Heat” Extreme Pepper Eating Challenge.

Ten contestants took their seats, and for the first time in PepperFest history, with 3 former champions among them.

The 2023 winner, Brandon “The Podfather” Sturgill, our 2024 champ, “The Don” Adams, and defending champion “El Sin Nombre” Darex returning to defend the throne.

All this returning firepower was an impressive sight, but the former champs weren’t the only ones ready to test themselves. Victoria “The Mother of Dragons” Scalise, Neil “The Mayor of Scoville” Osborne, Dylan “The Law” Marshall, CJ Gomik, Tyler “The Fire” Marshall, Bryan “Burnin’ Man” Martin and our recently crowned Wing King, Joseph “World Wide” Webb; rounded out a field of ten brave souls willing to find out just how much HEAT they could handle.

Time to Light The Fires.

A Different Chick Farm started things off light on heat but HEAVY on volume with a large Sorona Anaheim. From there, the temperature climbed steadily through the NuMex Jalmundo, Ring-O-Fire, and Orange Spice Jalapeño. By Round 5, the Paper Lantern pushed the challenge into 6-digit Scoville territory — and the table started to thin.

Harmony Springs took over and the heat rapidly increased. The next three peppers launched our remaining competitors beyond the 1,000,000 Scoville mark, reducing the table to three.

Round 9 brought Wind Ridge Farms into the mix, and they didn’t come to play—dropping a 1,500,000 SHU Death Spiral on the table as their opening offering. Tyler “The Fire” Marshall pushed away from the table, setting the scene for a battle none saw coming.

Defending champion “El Sin Nombre” Darex and Bryan “Burnin’ Man” Martin headed into round 10 with both looking strong. Harmony Springs laid a 2,000,000+ SHU Chocolate Reaper on the table for Round 10. Both men consumed it. Both men remained seated. Ten rounds down and the throne was still undecided.

We had officially entered a very appropriate place for a pepper-eating contest: Sudden Death.

Looking for a knock-out specimen, Wind Ridge Farms started Round 11 with the hottest pepper of the day — Dragon’s Breath, estimated at a staggering 2.48 MILLION SHUs.

Both men ate it…and both remained seated; but the battle was taking it’s toll.

Burnin’ Man ditched his cap in search of a whiff of coolness, while Darex closed his eyes, turned inward and tried to find some sort of inner calming Zen. Neither could be pried from their chairs. Onto Round 12.

Harmony Springs presented a name known throughout the pepper world: The Carolina Reaper — the former Guinness World Record holder for hottest pepper on Earth, checking in around 2.2 MILLION SHUs.

Again, both men consumed their peppers, and both remained seated…but the struggle was apparent. The crowd witnessed two competitors reaching deep within themselves, trying to find enough strength and determination to withstand the burn…and they did.

Round 13 saw Harmony Springs deliver the CPR pepper to the stage…another 2 MILLION+ Scoville monster.

At this point, there was no enthusiasm when the peppers arrived. No bravado. No pretending this didn’t hurt. Just two men staring down yet another piece of hot lava they knew they had to eat. Both reluctantly picked up their peppers, assaulting their already-torched taste buds with another dose of fire as they began to masticate the fiery fruit. Both finished.

THIRTEEN ROUNDS.

And after an incredible, world-class effort, Bryan “Burnin’ Man” Martin finally pushed himself away from the table. He had eaten EVERY pepper placed in front of him. He had survived all ten regulation rounds. He had ventured three rounds deep into Sudden Death. A championship-caliber performance in just about any extreme pepper-eating contest.

But on this day, there was still one man remaining anchored to the table: Darex.

The first two-time “Beat the Heat” Champion in PepperFest history, and the first champion to successfully defend his title with back-to-back wins.

He arrived as defending champion. He stared down a field that included two other former champs and some seriously hardened pepper eaters. And when the field narrowed to one final challenger, it took THIRTEEN rounds and a journey deep into Scoville insanity to finally settle the score.

Of course, we’d be remiss if we didn’t thank the PepperFest Family surrounding the stage, cheering these warriors through every painful bite and getting louder as the peppers got hotter.

That’s what makes “Beat the Heat” such a special part of PepperFest: incredible local growers bringing some of the worlds hottest peppers, hardened competitors bold enough to eat them, and a loyal and supportive PepperFest crowd that sticks with those warriors all the way into the fire.

Congratulations to “El Sin Nombre” Darex on making PepperFest history.

[Photos courtesy of Hitman photography]

09/08/2026

Scenes of Mass Carnage

Big shout-out to all of our Wing Warriors who stepped up and competed in the Delta Blues Blazin’ Blues Hot Wing Showdown!

Every competitor gave it their all—and the sauce-covered faces certainly tell the story.

And speaking of faces…nothing but smiles afterward!

Great effort. Great sportsmanship. Great camaraderie.

Thank you to everyone who took on the heat, cheered each other on, and gave us a showdown we won’t soon forget.

[Photos courtesy of Hitman photography]

09/08/2026

A LEGENDARY SHOWDOWN

The EPIC tales of PepperFest ’26 will be shared for years to come…and the Delta Blues Blazin’ Blues Hot Wing Showdown gave us one for the history books.

Once again, Delta Blues did their part, delivering their extra-large wings slathered in that infamous, super-hot scorpion pepper sauce. With Scoville Heat Unit levels reaching SEVEN DIGITS, contestants needed to bring more than an appetite to this one.

But this year, there was even more on the line than the title.

The PepperFest Posse added a new Blue Winner’s Jersey to the bounty. Similar to the wearable trophy awarded in our Pepper Eating Challenge, we wanted our champions to be easily recognizable in a crowd.

And before this year’s battle began, we had another jersey to present.

Our reigning Wing King, “King” Richard Chastain, entered PepperFest ’26 as the THREE-TIME defending champion — ’23, ’24 and ’25.

Three straight years of dominance deserved some recognition of its own, so before the contest we presented Richard with his ’25 Winner’s Jersey — commemorating last year’s victory while celebrating the incredible 3-PEAT it completed. Three straight titles. Three straight years on the throne. A run that has made him a LEGEND at this event.

Then it was time to defend the throne.

Richard did not disappoint.

In an astounding 1:10, he messily and methodically worked his way through the heated half-dozen, leaving the rest of the field in his dust…

Except one.

Joseph “World Wide” Webb came ready for battle.

He matched the reigning champ bite for bite, wing for wing. When the last skeletonized bone hit his plate, we looked at the clock:

1:10.

A TIE.

A PepperFest first for the Blazin’ Blues Hot Wing Showdown.

With the fired-up crowd looking on and the throne still undecided, two more boxes of Delta Blues wings were brought into the arena.

Everyone was about to witness the first-ever…

🔥🔥 SHOWDOWN SHOWDOWN. 🔥🔥

The battle commenced.

The carnage was incredible. Bones scattered across the battlefield. Sauce covered the hands and faces of both combatants. Neither man was giving an inch.

Then the final meatless bone fell.

1:03.

A NEW CONTEST RECORD.

Both warriors were covered in sauce. Both were full.

But only one had finished first.

Joseph Webb raised his saucy hands in victory and claimed the Blue Winner's Jersey, becoming the new BLAZIN’ BLUES WING KING!

The crowd erupted — celebrating Joseph’s incredible, record-setting performance while showing their appreciation for the three-time champion who had ruled this contest for three straight years.

Congratulations to our new Wing Champion, Joseph Webb, on an unforgettable victory — and to Richard Chastain, whose legendary three-year reign was honored with his ’25 Winner’s Jersey before this year’s battle even began. One king claimed the throne, while another proved exactly why taking it from him required a record-breaking performance.

Congratulations, gentlemen. You gave PepperFest ’26 a Showdown we’ll be talking about for a LONG time.

[Photos courtesy of Hitman photography]

09/07/2026

🌶️ A BIG PEPPERFEST THANK YOU TO WJHL! 🌶️

We really can’t say enough about our friends at WJHL! They’ve helped promote our hottest homegrown event for several years and have truly embraced our love for the spicy side of life.

From inviting us onto Daytime Tri-Cities with Amy Lynn, to Anderson Jones joining us at PepperFest Central to capture the sights, sounds, flavors, and energy of the festival, the WJHL team has helped us share what PepperFest is all about with folks throughout our region.

Local television does more than cover what’s happening—it helps connect a community. It gives local events, organizations, businesses, and the people behind them a platform to tell their stories and reach neighbors who might otherwise never hear them.

For PepperFest, that kind of visibility is invaluable. Every interview, segment, mention, and camera pointed our way helps introduce new people to the festival, supports our vendors and partners, and shines a spotlight on something homegrown right here in our community.

Thank you, WJHL, for continuing to show up for PepperFest and for helping local events like ours get seen, heard, and celebrated. We appreciate you more than you know!

🌶️❤️ Thanks for helping us spread the PepperFest heat!

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09/06/2026

If scheduling conflicts prevented you from attending PepperFest ’26 (although we can’t imagine what those could possibly have been 🌶️), we still have some goodies for you to take advantage of!

Mother Road Salsa from Taste New Mexico made its debut at PepperFest this year, and our attendees were the very first to take home this little jar of gastronomic wonderfulness.

The rest of the world will get its chance when Mother Road Salsa officially launches online in the coming week. But in the meantime, Taste New Mexico has graciously given our PepperFest Family 10% off any product purchase with code MRS0926.

Taste New Mexico has been a fantastic partner to PepperFest, and we’re excited for you to discover why we’ve made such a fuss about their products.

So consider this your invitation to take a little trip down the Mother Road—no gas, map, or scheduling excuse required. 😉
Check out TasteNewMexico.com, use code MRS0926, and taste for yourself why we’re such big fans.

🌶️ 250 years of flavor. One legendary road. And one seriously great salsa.

09/06/2026

For those who braved the absolutely gorgeous day to attend PepperFest ’26, you witnessed an absolute EPIC event. We’ll be dropping event photos soon, but wanted to thank all of our vendors and attendees who made PepperFest ’26 a record-breaking year.

Mark your calendars for our 9th Annual PepperFest on September 4th, 2027.

A few before and during photos from PepperFest ’26. Our Fire doesn’t bow to water.

09/05/2026

After some pretty extensive research, we’ve found fewer than 10 festivals in the U.S. that geographically span two states—with Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion being one of the best known.

This year, for the first time, PepperFest is crossing the state line.

That puts PepperFest on a very short list of two-state festivals nationwide—and puts Bristol in a category all its own: home to TWO of them.

Come be part of history as we turn State Street into HEAT STREET. 🌶️🔥