The hottest weekend of the year is upon us, with the 16th-annual Pinellas Pepper Fest making its spicy return. The festival takes place from 10 am to 5 pm on Saturday and Sunday, April 1 and 2, at England Brothers Park, 5010 81st Ave N, Pinellas Park.

Now in its 16th year, Pinellas Pepper Fest has been a must-visit for over a decade, and this year’s promises to be better than ever. For the second year in a row, organizer Suzanne King has partnered with SIK Promotions, Intensity Academy, and market extraordinaire LocalShops1 to make the festival one of the biggest in its history with more than 100 local artisans, food trucks, vendors and hot sauce makers.

The hot and spicy food show is painfully delicious, big on flavor and cooked up to be one of the hottest events of the season. The massive market of Scoville-popping flavor features an incredible array of goods, alongside live music, great food, and a long list of entertaining activities. Admission and parking are both free, and the festival is pet-friendly and family-friendly.

Expect great food, drinks and competitions at Pepper Fest

Pepper Fest is more than just a market – it’s a full festival experience featuring specialty exhibitors, live music, food trucks, beer and wine, a kids zone, and of course the traditional hot food eating contests. In addition to the best hot sauce competition and the jalapeno eating contest, Pepper Fest will showcase the Extreme Lolli Lick-A-Thon, where contenders are pitted against the hottest lollipop in the world.

More than 100 vendors will fill the park where visitors can browse and sample a smorgasbord of local hot sauces, salsas, coffees, honey and even plants and artwork. And don’t worry, there’s plenty to help cool off from those fiery sauces, with cool and frozen treats available. When guests are ready for a full meal, there will be tons of local food trucks on hand dishing up the good stuff, too.

As for the market itself, Pinellas Pepper Fest says “specialty exhibitors will tickle your taste buds as they bring on distinctive, breathtaking and dynamite offerings in the form of sauces, salsas, seasonings, rubs, plants, food products, gadgets, kitchenware, hundreds of mild to wild samples and more.”

Find more information and full schedule of events here.