Bowmanstown Volunteer Fire Co. is known for putting out fires, but they probably started a few in the mouths of attendees at this weekend's Pepper Festival.

The event raised the question "What can't you put peppers on?"There were vendors with hot pickles, hot mustard, pepper wine and even pepper margaritas."Spiciness is really growing in popularity," Peter Ciotto of Easton said.He was offering samples of "Habarita Select" a pepper-infused margarita mix.On Saturday, about a dozen chefs vied for top honors in a chili contest. While the entries surely brought some heat, they weren't so overwhelming that the public couldn't enjoy them. The chefs had to taste their own creations."It's interesting to see people's different approaches to chili. Everybody has something different," Brandy Kresge of Bowmanstown said.She and her husband, Eric, made a venison whiskey chili with a special seasoning - Jack Daniel's.Some of the recipes were established over many batches while others were made just for the day. Friends Bob Bonczek and Dan Laughlin came up with two original recipes for the contest - one featuring smoked chicken."That's the secret to good chili, just put in the ingredients that you like on their own," Laughlin, of Lehighton, said.