Childhood memories inspired winery owner to launch chili cook-off, festival
CHALK HILL – Her special childhood memories of her family attending fall festivals when she was growing up in a small close-knit New England town inspired Sharon Klay to begin the Chili Cook-Off and Mountain Harvest Festival at her Chalk Hill winery four years ago. “I believe that it’s important to create a community event, especially in such uncertain times,” said Klay, owner of the Christian W. Klay Winery, where the fund-raising event is held each year.
“I believe that we’re made up of our memories. It’s especially important for the young people to have a bond to the community,” she added. “I think it’s important to reach the young people so they have a rich tapestry of memories of where they came from and who they are.”
The festival, which will be held from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, will feature live bands, children’s activities, wine tasting, craft and food vendors and the popular chili competition.
Because of how strongly she feels about creating childhood memories, Klay is hoping that the festival will attract many families from Fayette County and throughout southwestern Pennsylvania.
“Our target audience really is the families,” she said. “The festival isn’t just for adults. That’s why we offer a lot of children’s activities. We will have face painting and games for the kids. They can make caramel apples and paint pumpkins. But we’re not going to trust the kids with knives so they won’t be carving any pumpkins.”
Klay estimated that about 2,000 people attended last year’s festival, which raised money for the American Heart Association and the State Theatre Center for the Arts. Last year, Klay said the winery contributed $1,000 from the festival proceeds to the 9-11 fund because the event was held shortly after the terrorist attacks.
“I’m hoping that even more people will come this year, especially if we have weather like this,” she said, referring to a beautiful sunny day. “But if it rains, we are prepared to carry on with the food vendors, crafters and chili competition inside the barn and under the tents. We had sleet the first year that we had the festival, and people are still talking about how much fun they had that day despite the bad weather.”
Klay said she believes the festival is an opportunity to celebrate not only the harvest but also the community spirit.
“We raise money during the festival for the American Heart Association and the State Theatre Center for the Arts,” Klay said. “We get to contribute something back to the community, which we think is very important.”
Klay, whose husband, John, practiced as a cardiac surgeon for 15 years in Pittsburgh and now works in Wheeling, W.Va., said it seemed natural to donate money to the American Heart Association the first year the event was held.
During the second year, Klay said the winery agreed to split the festival proceeds between the American Heart Association and the State Theatre Center for the Arts in Uniontown.
“Obviously, I believe in the cause of the American Heart Association,” she said. “We selected the State Theatre because of the cultural events that it brings to the community. The State Theatre is a little gem in the community. It’s so much like the Warner State Theatre in Connecticut where I grew up.”
Klay, who spent her childhood in Torrington, Conn., a small town about the same size as Uniontown, said Chalk Hill reminds her of the Brookshire foothills in New England.
“There are lots of rolling hills, and it’s very lush and green in Connecticut – just like it is in Chalk Hill,” Klay said. “The towns are very small in Connecticut, and it feels like home. That is what made it so easy for us to settle in Chalk Hill. This time of the year you can smell the burning wood, pumpkins, leaves and in this case, chili, blowing in the air.”
The Klays have owned the 215-acre farm since 1986. The couple began planting grapevines three years after they bought the farm. They opened the winery in 1997 and named it after their 17-year-old son, Christian, a student at Linsly School in Wheeling, W.Va. John Klay works as a cardiac surgeon in Wheeling, and Sharon splits her time between the couple’s Wheeling and Chalk Hill homes.
“My husband is the one who said that he wanted to start growing grapes on the farm,” Klay said. “He ordered the first 1,000 vines because he wanted to find out what would grow. We quickly discovered that we didn’t have enough grapes to make wine. We eventually pushed it up to 14,000 vines with the help of Ray Matthews, our vineyard manager. I know this is going to sound a little odd, but I’m the third wife of a cardiac surgeon who opened a winery.”
Klay said it would be impossible for the winery to continue to host the festival each year without the support of many volunteers, including Lauri Tallant and Chris Chaney, who spend countless hours preparing for the event.
“Once again, chili cooks and judges will be organized and guided by co-founder and chili cook-off veteran, Lauri Tallant,” Klay said.
Tallant, a Belle Vernon native who learned about chili competition while spending 18 years living in Virginia, serves as co-chairman of the event and works directly with Klay.
Four years ago, Tallant, who had entered and even won many chili competitions in Virginia, agreed to lay down her dipper to get the first chili cook-off sizzling at the winery shortly after she moved back to the area and met Klay. Both women wanted to launch this festival in an effort to promote the area and raise money for charity.
“Volunteers from the American Heart Association and the State Theatre come on the day of the festival and help with every aspect of it,” Klay said. “They help with the children’s activities and take the money at the gate. It would be impossible to host the festival each year without the support of volunteers and businesses that donate prizes for the auction.”
Admission to the festival is $3 per person. Children under 12 years of age are admitted free of charge.