Habitat for Humanity of Craven County partners with Brewery 99 for Hurricane Helene relief efforts
PRESS RELEASE: New Bern, NC
For Immediate Release: November 6, 2024
Habitat for Humanity of Craven County partners with Brewery 99 for Hurricane Helene relief efforts
New Bern’s Brewery 99 has announced it will donate the proceeds from its upcoming 3rd annual Friendsgiving Chili Cook-Off to Habitat for Humanity of Craven County’s to assist with Hurricane Helene relief efforts.
The money will help fund the recovery of Habitat for Humanity affiliates in Western NC that were impacted by the storm.
“Everybody wants to do something. We can’t do all the fundraisers in the world so we picked Habitat to do our philanthropy, so it makes it real easy for us. Whatever Habitat is doing we want to help,” said Brewery 99 owner Pete Frey.
Like many people in Craven County, Frey said he has friends in Western N.C. that were directly impacted by Hurricane Helene.
“I know people out there and I don’t think anybody went untouched,” Frey said. “Either directly or indirectly you were affected by that storm.”
The Friendsgiving Chili Cook-Off will take place on Saturday, November 9 at 5 p.m. at Brewery 99, located at 1030 Pollock St, New Bern. Frey said the brewery will donate all entrance fees from the event to HFHCC for its western N.C. relief work.
Registration for the chili cook-off opened November 1 and is only accessible via Brewery 99’s website, brewery99.com, and Facebook page.
Frey said contributions to go towards Habitat’s recovery efforts will also be accepted on the day of the event.
“People will be able to come in and give money to Habitat and at the same time we’re going to give all the money from our cook-off entrants,” he explained.
The first 10 individuals to sign up will secure a spot in the official chili cook-off competition. Anyone who missed the initial entry but would still like to participate can sign up in the "Supplemental Category." Although the category won't be judged officially, it still provides an opportunity for local chili cooks to showcase their culinary skills.
This year’s Friendsgiving Chili Cook-Off will feature two competition categories:
-Popular Vote: All attendees can cast their vote for their favorite chili. The judging will be by people’s choice, with diners writing their favorite chili recipe on a slip of paper.
-99’s Choice: The Brewery 99 staff will select their favorite chili.
Voting will begin at 5 p.m and winners will be announced by 6:30 p.m. Prizes will be awarded to the top three winners in both the Popular Vote and 99's Choice categories.
Frey said he expected at least 100 people to turn out to sample the chili on cook-off night.
“It’s that time of the year when families are getting together and people come in from all over, so it should be a pretty good mix.”
Frey said he has seen the positive effect of Habitat’s work in the communities surrounding New Bern’s Pollock Street, which is home to both Brewery 99 and the HFHCC ReStore.
“I just believe housing is one of the most important things in life and this neighborhood that has been blighted for a long time is being transformed in great part thanks to Habitat for Humanity,” said Frey. “We’re neighbors and I’ve always believed in Habitat from the very beginning."