Booze and stews

On an empty stomach, beer festivals can often leave you woozy before nightfall. But the Sacramento Beer and Chili Festival Cook-Off? That’s just smart planning. At Roosevelt Park (1615 9th Street), the seventh annual event features cook-offs in four categories—industry, individual, People’s Choice and vegetarian—and a $35 all-access ticket buys you unlimited chili tastings and beer 1-5 p.m. Saturday, April 21. If you’re keen on one over the other, there are chili-only and beer-only tickets, each for $20. Beer brewers include Track 7, North Coast, Alaskan and New Belgium; industry chili cooks signed up to compete are Dad’s Kitchen, Pipin’ Hot Smokers, Scooter’s Chili and Sysco. The lone vegetarian entrant (so far) is Sun and Soil. Supervised dogs and children are welcome, and there will be bike parking along the fence. Learn more and buy tickets at http://sacramentobeerandchilifestival.com.