First newspaper coverage of the Austin Hot Sauce Festival, courtesy of the Austin American-Statesman:

Hot Sauce Festival brings tears of happiness
Salmonella scare earlier this year fails to dampen attendance, enthusiasm.

By Tony Plohetski
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Monday, August 25, 2008

First, there was the salmonella outbreak in June that officials initially suspected was linked to tomatoes. Then, earlier this month came the news that the bacteria had been traced to certain kinds of peppers.

For weeks, organizers of the Austin Chronicle Hot Sauce Festival wondered if their event was doomed.

On Sunday, they got their answer: a resounding “no.”

Instead, nearly 30 hot sauce and salsa makers showed up before dawn. By noon, they had given out countless samples.

Thousands of tasters shuffled from booth to booth, sharing opinions about their preferred sauce. And the number of people who entered the sauce-making contest rose from about 400 last year to 600 this year.

“It doesn’t seem to have turned anyone away,” event organizer Elizabeth Derczo said as she looked out over the crowd from a Waterloo Park hillside.

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