Just a reminder, but the Austin Chronicle Hot Sauce Festival is slated to be August 26, 2007. Chuk, we will of course expect a full report….

Not sure why this author is putting out this article now like she just attended the show, which won’t be until August. However, it makes for a pretty entertaining read.

Heat in the heart of Texas

If the 100-plus temperature in Austin doesn’t break a sweat on your forehead, the Hot Sauce Festival will.

By Theresa Everline
Special Correspondent
Posted June 17 2007

Certain foods seem improper to consume before noon, like they would hit a gastronomical flat note. Ice cream. Beer. Habanero peppers hot enough to make your eyes bulge.

But there I was last summer in Austin, Texas, at 11 a.m., my mouth tingling with the heat of the peppers named after Cuba’s capital city.

It was another 100-plus-degree day during the second-hottest August on record in Texas. People clustered in shady areas to avoid broiling in the sun. The most-asked question was, “Is it hot?” — but it wasn’t referring to the weather. Rather, the worry was over a dollop of red sitting on the end of a corn ship, eyed suspiciously. The Austin Chronicle Hot Sauce Festival was in full swing.

When inquiring whether a sauce was hot, some people hoped for a yes, others for a no, but everyone wanted to know what was in store. A habanero is something one must brace oneself for.

Click here to read the rest of this source article from the Sun-Sentinel.com