Urbana will hold its second annual Central Illinois Beer Tasting and Chili Cookoff competition at Lincoln Square on Saturday.

Urbana Fire Chief Rex Mundt's idea for a beer and chili cookoff in Urbana stemmed from the chili cookoffs he attended in his hometown of Burlington, Iowa.

Mundt said he used to attend chili cookoffs in Burlington, and then helped organize one while he was fire chief in Marshalltown, Iowa. When he came to the Urbana Fire Department in 1999, he became involved with the Urbana Business Association and suggested the idea of a chili cookoff. Last year the event included beer tasting, and Mundt said he thought the event was a success.

"We passed out about 60 gallons of 2-ounce chili samples in less than one hour," he said.

Ian Goldberg, talent buyer for Goldberg Events and Entertainment, said there will be 150 varieties of beer to sample, including imports and microbrews. Goldberg Events and Entertainment is co-sponsoring the event with Lincoln Square and the Urbana Business Association.

"We work with a special beer distributing company out of Peoria," he said. "We had anonymous judges and over 1500 people came last year."

Goldberg said his business will be providing security for the event, and they are expecting a big crowd this year.

"We're expecting about 2000 to 2500 people," he said.

Urbana mayor Tod Satterthwaite said he thinks events such as the cookoff get people to come to downtown Urbana and give them something to do on the weekends.

"It's a nice opportunity to see old friends and make new ones," he said.

Satterthwaite, who was a chili judge last year, said tasting the different types of beers, including flavored and German beers, was a new experience.

"It's like touring the world without leaving home," he said. "I had the opportunity to taste beers that weren't from the U.S."

Chili and beer samples are 50 cents each. Mundt said the event will be a chance for people to enjoy themselves, and participants will get their money's worth. He encouraged college students in the area to participate as well. The first 500 people over the age of 21 who come to the event will receive a free commemorative glass.

"Anyone can do this," he said. "It's a lot of fun."