The 2012 Chili’n on the Avenue CASI winners were:
1. Wes Carlson  – Loves Park, IL
2. Bill Pierson  – Batavia, IL
3. Jim Weller  -Rockton, IL
4. Jill Goldberg – Madison, WI
5. Georgia Weller – Rockton, IL
6. Kime Weller – Milwaukee, WI
7. Debbie Wasik – Chandler, TX
8. Mike Goodman -Pewaukee, WI
9. Chris Tait/Steve Carpenter – Wauwatosa, WI
10. Matt Stippich  – Wauwatosa, WI

The 2012 top 3 in the ‘Open’ (anything goes!) category were:
1. Pat Gustafason – Chicago, IL
2. Scott Miller/Chris Turner – Wauwatosa, WI
3. Chris Tait/Steve Carpenter – Wauwatosa, WI

The top 3 2012 Salsa winners were:
1. Mike Goodman – Pewaukee, WI
2. Jill Goldberg – Madison, WI
3. Mike Oblamski – Menomonee Falls, WI

The 3 that took home the prize for Showmanship (aka: the best blinged-out booth) were:
1. Dos Sombreros (Scott Miller/Chris Turner) – Wauwatosa, WI
2. Packin’ Some Heat (Christ Tait/Steve Carpenter) – Wauwatosa, WI
3. Jill’s Leapin Lambeau Chili (Jill Goldberg) – Madison, WI

And this year’s People’s Choice champion was Wauwatosa’s own….
DOS SOMBREROS (Scott Miller/Chris Turner)

Congratulations and THANK YOU  to ALL of the cooks who participated in this year’s Chili’n on the Avenue!!

For photos of the awesome event, visit our facebook page!

More information on our great event!!

COOKS INFORMATION

It’s not too late to register! You can register from 8-9am on Saturday. We will have forms on site and will take cash or check {written out to East Tosa Alliance}.

Pricing is as follows:
$25.00 for entry into single category
$35.00 for entry into two categories
$50.00 for entry into all three categories

FAQ’s:

Q: How large is my space?

A: Approximately 12×12.

Q: What time can I start setting up?

A: We recommend showing up between 8am-9am to start setting up. The festival begins at 11am, but judging and turn-in are not until 1pm.

Q: Can I marinate my meat ahead of time?

A: No. All food *must* be prepared from scratch. “Scratch” is defined as starting with raw meat. No marinating is allowed. Commercial chili powder is permissible, but complete commercial chili mixes (“just add meat” mixes that contain pre-measured spices) are NOT permitted.

Q: Does Chili’n provide electricity for cooks?

A: No. In the past, most cooks have used either camp stoves or turkey fryer-type pots atop a propane burner. We don’t generally recommend generators, as they are pretty loud and its a pretty small space.

Q: Can I decorate?

A: Yes. All cook off participants are encouraged to participate in the showmanship category competition. The goal is to decorate your cooking space to reflect your chili.

Q: What kind of prizes are there?

A: We give trophies for 1st through 3rd place for CASI chili, and ribbons for 4th through 7th.  We also give trophies for 1st through 3rd places for homestyle chili, salsa, and the people’s choice award. We give ribbons for 1st through 3rd place for showmanship.

Good luck and may the best cook win!!!!

GENERAL INFORMATION

Ticket Prices:
Chili’n tickets are good for chili and salsa samples, as well as all beverages sold at the festival.

Carnival tickets can be used in the family area for games and rides.

Chili’n tickets … $1

Carnival tickets … $.25

Prices:

water … 1 ticket

chili + salsa … 1 ticket

soda … 2 tickets

beer … 3 tickets

Mike’s Hard Lemonade … 4 tickets

sangria … 5 tickets

games + rides … 2 – 4 tickets, each

Wristbands … $8.00 for unlimited bounce, all day (slide, obstacle course, bounce house)

Over 21? Don’t forget your ID! You will be carded at the time of ticket purchase if you intend to purchase libations!

**Please note that vendors take cash only. Tickets are only good for the things listed above.**

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We can’t do it without you!
While chili cooks and taste connoisseurs are important, in order for the crowd to have fun, we need volunteers!!!

If you’d like to give back to the community, please contact Volunteer Coordinators, Heidi or Harris Ladd, at laddfamily5@gmail.com or fill out the attached form and return!!

2012 Chilin Volunteer Registration Form

The 3rd Annual Chili’n on the Avenue is quickly approaching!  Are you ready?  We’ve got a TON of super fun family-friendly activity planned {games, entertainment, and inflatables!}, various local food and shopping vendors, as well as a stellar entertainment line up:

11:30 John Stano

1:30 Saturday Night Preachers

3:30 Paul Cebar Tomorrow Sound

And of course, we can’t forget the CHILI!

In the meantime, check out some photos from last year’s fun

{photos courtesy of Molly Kreeger}

Reposted from Wauwatosa Patch February 4 article, Auto Parts Chain Leases Former Blockbuster Building.

O’Reilly Auto Parts has signed a 15-year lease for the former Blockbuster building at 6102 W. North Ave., city officials and neighborhood representatives learned Friday.

A group including several Common Council members, the city administrator, the economic development director and members of the East Tosa Alliance met with the property’s owner and representatives Friday morning to discuss the future of the site, according to two aldermen who were present.

But after a conversation about fitting any potential use into the city’s comprehensive plan, they said, owner Dan Cohen of Mid-America Real Estate announced that the lease with O’Reilly had already been signed.

Ald. Linda Nikcevich said in an e-mail that Cohen told the group he had been working on alternate plans for the Blockbuster site since 2007 and that O’Reilly was the only business that had wanted it.

When Blockbuster vacated the premises in December without notice, Nikcevich said, Cohen and O’Reilly were already prepared to move ahead with a lease.

Nikcevich and Ald. Bobby Pantuso, who also attended the meeting, were concerned, though, that the fast turnaround of the property did not take into account the city’s vision for the area.

Between 2007 and the present, she said, the city had adopted the North Avenue Plan to implement a $5.4 million, 15-year vision for an enlivened business district. However, she said, Cohen told the group he was not even aware of the existence of the redevelopment plan.

“This is a conditional use that could be approved for the space with restrictions, but not a preferred use of the property,” Nikcevich wrote.

Pantuso concurred, saying in an interview that while any solid, long-term tenant was better than a long-term vacancy, an auto parts business was not what East Tosa had hoped for on the Blockbuster site.

Neighborhood organizers who did the groundwork in developing the North Avenue Plan have long looked at the Blockbuster location as a potential anchor for the east end of the district in Wauwatosa.

It had always been hoped, he said, that attracting a destination dining establishment or up-scale mixed-use development there could be the impetus for a revival of sorts along the avenue.

“I think we could have done better than an auto parts store,” Pantuso said.

Cohen could not be reached for comment.

By Bobby Pantuso, alderman

Recently, you may have noticed that the Blockbuster building on 61^st Street and North Avenue became vacant. Many people wondered what might be coming next.

As it turns out, it is an auto parts store.

Everyone living in East Tosa has their own vision of what they would like North Avenue to look like, to be like, to feel like. My own vision for North Avenue starts with… well, North Avenue.

Not the one of today but the one from 30 years ago, when I was a kid growing up in East Tosa and hanging out on and frequenting the shops on North Avenue.

The second infusion to my vision of North Avenue is Brady Street on the East Side of Milwaukee; a walkable stretch of urban street filled with eclectic shops. Merge those together and you get a taste of MY vision.

Putting everyone’s vision together and producing a common vision was no small task. Through the efforts of many, over a period of a few years, a great document was formed.

That document sits in my home office, and I commonly refer to it as “The Game Plan.” I refer to it frequently. I’ve printed copies and mailed them to people. I’ve linked to it in emails more times than you can imagine. I have shared it.

As I look through the game plan I see myself walking down North Avenue, stopping, shopping, talking, people watching. It is where I want to be and I want to share it. We share because we are proud. “Here try this cake I made… Try this coffee I bought… walk down this street I helped create.

North Avenue needs to be not just a street but a place and a destination. There needs to be a look, a feel, a sense, a place we share.

Many East Tosans wondered what “the plan” called for. It quickly became known that the next occupant of the Blockbuser site might be a national chain auto parts store…sigh. Really? That’s the best you could do?… sigh.

Then as we REALLY thought about it we envisioned the auto parts store we already have just two blocks away. The parking lot is covered in oil and usually trash. People are there at all hours with the hood up, filling fluids, changing sparkplugs, batteries. They try starting their cars, they rev the engine, they play their music loud while they do so. They loiter…..sigh.

It has become apparent that we are getting this auto parts store, the lease has been signed and there is no turning back. It is up to us now to stop the parking lot from becoming an outdoor auto shop, an eyesore.

What if this becomes a place we avoid? What if we start to avoid the places nearby? What if we are no longer proud and we don’t want to share?

This was never in my vision. It wasn’t in anybody’s.

East Tosa residents assumed it was a matter of time before Blockbuster closed up shop in their neighborhood.

But the speed of the movie-rental store’s departure at 6102 W. North Ave. last month, and the reports that an auto-parts store might fill the space, have neighbors concerned.

Blockbuster has fallen on hard times, shuttering most of its stores in the Milwaukee area and across the country. Still, an employee assured Alderman Bobby Pantuso last spring that the local store would likely remain open for some time. Then in mid-December, business-closing signs went up and the building was quickly emptied.

“I was a little thrown off because it always seemed busy to me,” Pantuso said. “We always thought there was going to be more time.”

The site has been identified as a key redevelopment hotspot in the East Tosa master plan that was adopted by the city last summer. Pantuso said that while the plan sounded a bit “pie in the sky” – it calls for a neighborhood commons feel with two-story mixed residential/office and commercial use as well and even a splash pad for urban recreation/open space – it makes full use of the site.

“That’s such a beautiful spot and there’s not a lot of mixed use on North Avenue,” he said.

The 32,400-square-foot property, which takes up nearly an entire commercial block, is mostly asphalt parking lot surrounding a 6,800 square-foot building.

Blockbuster’s closing left members of the East Tosa Alliance, a group of residents, business and property owners, scrambling to find out if they could influence what was next for site.

“It’s an anchor in that area,” said Meg Miller, alliance board chairwoman. “We want to work with anyone that comes in. We want this to be collaborative.”

Initial talks with a broker from Mid-America Real Estate Group led Miller to believe a new tenant had been lined up for the building. After some digging, she learned the real-estate firm had secured a long-term lease from O’Reilly Auto Parts.

The broker couldn’t be immediately reached for comment but he did send Miller an e-mail Tuesday, saying he’s willing to talk.

Neighbors haven’t welcomed news of a national auto parts retailer.

“Bringing this type of business into this space does not add to the neighborhood feel the North Avenue East Tosa Plan is attempting to accomplish,” said Angela Quigley, a resident who joined the alliance. “My husband and I moved to East Tosa a few years ago from Downtown Milwaukee because of all the locally owned, unique businesses that were within walking distance of our house. There is a lot of momentum going on in this neighborhood of bringing in new, fresh businesses and I just don’t feel that O’Reilly Auto Parts will add to this momentum.”

Alliance members cite an auto parts dealer at 58th Street and North Avenue, albeit in Milwaukee, that serves the area. A market study included in the master plan cites a need for locally provided auto-related retail. However, that shouldn’t be misconstrued as a need for additional stores, but rather a desire to protect the existing businesses like Voline and O’Gorman’s that the alliance doesn’t want to see pushed out, Miller said.

National auto parts franchises tend to locate in strip malls on busy main streets, not next to a happening restaurant and gathering place like Juniper 61, she said. Imagine sitting on the patio enjoying a meal overlooking a person changing their oil in the neighboring parking lot, she said.

The residents don’t want to see an empty building and understand that a property owner needs to collect rent, Miller said. A look at the companies that Mid-America represents shows some more fitting options – such as a Chipotle, which would be consistent with a survey that showed neighbors want a Mexican restaurant in the district.

East Tosa resident Maureen Badding sent a letter to the broker pointing out a desire by residents for garden center, Mexican restaurant, Hallmark-type store, specialty food store or retail boutiques of any type.

“With a relatively new building and ample parking, your property is a goldmine,” she said.

Please join the Friends of Hart Park Foundation for their Fall 2011 Weed Out and Menomonee River Clean-Up. The Friends of Hart Park is a non-profit organization whose goal is to promote the preservation of Hart Park. Please visit our web site at www.ihartpark.com for further information about The Friends of Hart Park. The event will take place Saturday, October 29th, 2011 from 9am- noon. We are looking for volunteers to help with pulling weeds and cleaning up along the Menomonee River at Hart Park. We will be meeting outside the Park Office at Hart Park at 9am. We will be supplying bags. Please bring gloves, sheers and any supplies that you think will be beneficial for the clean-up. Please email Patrick.mcnally82@gmail.com if you plan on attending