Chamber Chili Cookoff And Little River Band Spark 'Olivette On The Go' Weekend

The City of Olivette just concluded three days of revamping its annual summer festival. The Olivette SummerFest was re-branded as 'Olivette on the Go' with activities spanning the entire weekend.

The festival featured new carnival rides, an expanded beer garden and picnic area; many ethnic food booths and a variety of activities to please everyone.

The highlight of the weekend was an appearance by the Little River Band.They played to a throng of hundreds spread out across the park on blankets, picnic benches and lawn chairs.

On Saturday, the hosted an old fashioned chili cook-off. It drew cooks from home kitchens as well as community businesses. The overall winner, Saleeby Associates, won $1,000 for their white chicken chili, described as "outside the box." Monsanto took second, and Tesson Roofing and Exteriors was third. Only first place recieved a cash prize.

Sunday morning, some 100 runners embarked from Oak Estates subdivision on a 5K race through the streets of Olivette. The first place male and female finishers each took home $150 cash. The race was sponsored by the Murphy Co. of Olivette. Doug Cohen served as race organizer. Also, the morning including a family fun run/walk through the local community.

On Friday night, events kicked off with a bonfire. Other highlights were an appearance by FredBird, square dance demonstrations and other community minded activities.

The move from very hot June to more temperate October proved to be popular for many. Larry Gerstein served as General Chairman for the entire event.