One of the best things about this time of year is the myriad activities taking place all over town. Peace River Wildlife Center is diving into this frenzy with some exciting upcoming events. Our first foray will be this Saturday (Jan. 26) at Laishley Park for the Chili Challenge and Beer Festival. We hope all of our visitors will stop by the festival on your way to or from PRWC to try our (soon-to-be) world-famous Road Kill Chili.

Put down the phone — no need to call Florida Fish and Wildlife. As a special favor to my loyal readers, I will now reveal the secret ingredient in our Road Kill Chili. (Hint — it’s not meat.) It’s actually a vegetarian chili, with no meat at all. We were afraid that wasn’t macho enough for a chili cook-off, so we came up with a name that has a bit of a swagger to it. While everyone else is trying to woo your taste buds with venison, bison and heaven knows what other exotic meats, keep an open mind and at least try the vegetarian chili. My strictly carnivorous husband has eaten it and lived to tell the tale. And did I mention there will be beer?