Inferno Fest
Wednesday June 24, 2026
4:30- 9:00 pm
Location: Everts Park | 111 North Ave. Highwood, Illinois 60040
Rescheduled Inferno Fest Eating Contest
Wednesday, July 22 at 7:15 PM
Can you take the heat? 🔥
For those that missed the Inferno Fest Eating Contest due to the rain, it has been rescheduled to Wednesday, July 22 at 7:15 PM at this week’s Evening Gourmet Market, and it's going to be hotter than ever!
Watch fearless competitors take on La Casa de Isaac's “great balls of fire”, eating as many as they can before giving in and reaching for a Lifeway Kefir Cool Down. 🌶️🥛 First place will receive a $100 gift card for ABT, second place will receive a $50 gift card for ABT, and everybody that participates will receive a free bottle of our sponsor Gindo’s Spice of Life’s hot sauce.
Sign up here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/inferno-fest-contestants-2026-tickets-1988336355564
Sign this waiver: https://www.celebratehighwood.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Inferno-Fest-Contest-Waiver-2026.pdf
Make a night of it at the Evening Gourmet Market from 4:30 – 9 PM and stick around for live music by Noah and Boogiemen from 6 – 9 PM. Bring your friends and cheer on your favorite heat-seeker! 🔥🎶
HIGHWOOD IS ONCE AGAIN GETTING FIRED UP FOR INFERNO FEST
IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE HIGHWOOD EVENING GOURMET MARKET:
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24th FROM 4:30-9 PM, EVERTS PARK
The City of Highwood is heating up as Celebrate Highwood gets fired up for Inferno Fest on Wednesday, June 24, from 4:30-9 PM in Everts Park (111 North Ave.). Showcasing a plethora of the hottest and spiciest foods and beverages, Inferno Fest will test the taste buds of the most fearless food enthusiasts.
The fun, fiery Inferno Fest will feature a variety of hot twists on traditional America, Italian and Mexican dishes, spicy sweets and creative cocktails. Fabulous live music by Los Perros Cubanos and an assortment of unique spicy foods will create an entertaining atmosphere while visitors sample the hottest foods on the North Shore.
For those worried they may not be able to handle the heat, have no fear, the event will take place in conjunction with all the fabulous vendors at the weekly Highwood Evening Gourmet Market offering plenty of additional options to enjoy!
For adults 18 years and older in for a challenge, the Inferno Fest Eating Contest will be take place from the stage at 7:15 PM. The rules are simple…whoever can eat the most La Casa de Isaac bolas infernales aka “great balls of fire” without calling for a Kefir Cool Down, wins a $100 gift card! This is truly a challenge for those with iron stomachs. All venturesome competitors are required to register online prior to the contest. Please note, all participants must sign a waiver.
“Inferno Fest is an opportunity to go a little outside your comfort zone with bold food and drinks, and there’s something really special about doing it together as a community,” says Jessica Ortega, President of Celebrate Highwood and owner of Highwood’s Giggles Play “I entered the Inferno Fest Eating Contest last year and let me tell you — Lifeway Kefir was my best friend that night. This is exactly the kind of experience that makes Highwood unlike anywhere else on the North Shore.”
For those not in the know, milk interacts with spices to cool taste buds in a way that water or soda cannot. Dubbed as ‘the champagne of dairy’, Kefir will be on site with cool down samples to share with anyone who is coming out to Inferno Fest to expand their culinary horizons!
And those interested in putting their taste buds to the test can sample an array of hot sauces from Inferno Fest sponsor, Gindo’s Spice of Life, offering handcrafted fresh pepper hot sauces and spice blends. Gindo’s makes dozens of varieties of small batch sauces including Peach Bourbon Hot Sauce, Smokey Red Pepper and Garlic Sauce, and award-winning Hot Honey.
Special thanks to Celebrate Highwood Inferno Fest sponsors: Gindo’s Spice of Life, Highland Park Bank & Trust, Lifeway Kefir, La Casa de Isaac, Brian Lock of State Farm, Window Works, and ABT Electronics for providing the gift cards to Inferno Fest Eating Contest winners.
