Tampa Bay’s annual hot sauce festival ‘I Like it Hot!’ returns this September

“I Like It Hot!” Festival Credit: “I Like It Hot!” Festival

September will be hotter than normal, because spice heads and pepper connoisseurs can feel the burn at the I Like it Hot! Festival in Pinellas Park.

Florida’s longest-running hot sauce festival returns for its 26th year bringing a sizable selection of hot sauces, seasonings, salsas, specialty products and unique retail vendors.

The scorching hot sauce festival will move this year from the Largo Event Center to the England Brothers Park located at 5010 Dave McKay Way in Pinellas Park.

The fiery weekend starts Saturday, Sept. 12, and Sunday, Sept. 13, at from 10 am to 4 pm. The event has no cover and also free parking. The event is family and pet friendly.

I Like it Hot! is one of the longest-running festivals in the United States, spanning 26 years. This year will include vendor hot sauce competitions, wing-eating contests, a pepper-eating challenge, a barbecue competition and a salsa competition.

The festival’s fan favorite extreme Lolli Lick-A-Thon contest returns for spicy food lovers to test their Scoville threshold as they lick the hottest lolly pop in the world.

Along with the spicy accouterments — and if it’s too spicy to handle — there will be an assortment of food trucks, gourmet foods, snacks and live entertainment for everyone to enjoy.

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This article appears in July 23 – 29, 2026.