One of the things I appreciate most about working in recreation is seeing what happens when people are simply given a reason to come together.

Recreation and park districts are often thought of in terms of parks, playgrounds, sports fields, pools, trails, and facilities. Those things are important, but some of the most meaningful work happens when those spaces become gathering places.

Community events help make that happen.

One of my favorite examples is the annual PRPD Bags & Beans Chili Cookoff and Cornhole Tournament.

On the surface, it is pretty simple: chili, drinks, cornhole, competition, and a lot of good-natured trash talk.

But if you spend a little time at the event, you quickly realize there is much more happening.

I have participated in Bags & Beans since its early days, and every year I look forward to it. Of course, I take the chili competition entirely too seriously. Recipes are analyzed. Ingredients are debated. Previous victories are remembered fondly. Previous losses are subjected to unnecessary levels of investigation.

There is plenty of banter among competitors, and everyone is convinced their chili is the one people will be talking about at the end of the day.

But somewhere between the judging, the cornhole games, and the conversations around the chili pots, something more important happens.

People connect.

Families come out together and spend an afternoon away from their normal routines. Kids see their parents and grandparents laughing with neighbors and friends. Couples compete on cornhole teams. Friends meet up for a drink. People who are new to the community have an easy reason to introduce themselves to someone they have never met.

And sometimes those introductions turn into friendships.

As a chili competitor, I have had countless conversations with people who stop by for a sample.

They ask about the recipe.

What kind of meat did you use?

What gives it that smoky flavor?

How spicy is it?

What is the secret ingredient?

Naturally, some information remains classified.

But the recipe question is often just the beginning.

Before long, the conversation shifts to family, work, parks, the community, last year’s event, or who they think has the best chili.

For a few minutes, strangers are no longer strangers.

That is the value of community events.

They create low-pressure opportunities for people to interact with one another. There is no meeting agenda. There is no formal introduction required. You simply show up, grab some food, toss a few bags, and find yourself talking to someone.

Those small interactions matter.

For individuals, an event can provide a sense of belonging.

For families, it can become a tradition.

For someone who has recently moved into the area, it can be their first real connection to the community.

For longtime residents, it can be an opportunity to reconnect with people they have not seen in a while.

And for the community as a whole, those connections help create something that cannot be built with concrete, playground equipment, or landscaping alone.

They build relationships.

That is one of the reasons I believe community events are such an important part of what recreation and park districts do.

Our facilities provide the place, but people create the community.

An event like Bags & Beans gives people permission to slow down for an afternoon, laugh a little, compete a little, eat too much chili, and spend time together.

Some people will remember who won the chili competition.

Some will remember the cornhole tournament.

Some will remember the ridiculous competitor who spent the week declaring that his chili was capable of melting the gates of Valhalla.

But most people will probably remember who they were there with.

That is the real measure of a successful community event.

Not simply how many people attended or how many bowls of chili were served, but whether people left feeling a little more connected to the place they call home.

And if all of this has you thinking that maybe you should come see what the fuss is about, that would be perfectly reasonable.

This year’s Bags & Beans Chili Cookoff and Cornhole Tournament is Saturday, November 7, 2026.

No pressure, of course.

Just food, drinks, competition, community, and the possibility of witnessing another completely unnecessary declaration of chili supremacy.

Some traditions are worth showing up for.