Overview The Beach Haven Chowder Cook-Off is Long Beach Island's fall clam chowder festival, run by the all-volunteer Beach Haven Chamber of Commerce with the Hunger Foundation of Southern Ocean. It carries on the Chowderfest weekend that has closed the LBI season for over three decades. Saturday is a free Merchant Mart. Sunday is the ticketed Cook-Off Classic, where local restaurants compete in red and white chowder and the crowd picks the winners. All proceeds stay local. On site The festival takes over the Taylor Avenue field on the bayfront behind Bay Village, with boats tied up along one edge and the village shops across the street. Saturday's rows of tents sell handmade and LBI-themed goods beside food vendors, a youth area with face painting and crafts, and bands playing all day. On Sunday the restaurant chowder tents line the lot, and a ticket buys unlimited tasting. Every ticket holder gets a commemorative poker chip whose QR code opens the vote: one pick for red, one for white. A beer trailer and a wine and seltzer tent sit mid-field, beach chairs cluster on the grass by the stage, and the winners are called at the close. Audience Chowder fans come in groups, many in costume, clam hats included. Locals and fall visitors taste their way down the tent line cup by cup, vote from their phones and shop the merchant rows between rounds. Families bring strollers and wagons, and children under ten get in free. Talent and Influencers The chefs are the draw. The current field includes Country Kettle Chowda, Lefty's Tavern, Panzone's, Mud City Crab House, The Chicken or the Egg, La Bamba, Dolce Liberta and Element, with The Sea Shell back in the contest after a long break. Country Kettle Chowda has taken the white title in back-to-back years, and Lefty's Tavern holds the red crown. Local cover bands and DJs keep the stage going both days. Track record Proceeds from the most recent weekend topped $200,000 for hunger relief and community projects. The Hunger Foundation's share goes to food pantries in Barnegat, Stafford, Lacey, Little Egg Harbor, Manahawkin and Tuckerton, and the chamber's share pays for park upkeep and the summer fireworks. Pre-scanned wristbands handed out on Saturday have all but cleared the Sunday entry lines. Brand presence The title sponsor's name rides on the event itself, billed as the Beach Haven Chowder Cook-Off presented by that brand. Named sponsors hold the beer and bar area, the stage, the food vendor area, the tasting tent and the entrance gate, each with its own signage. Every ticket holder carries a sponsor logo on the voting chip, volunteers wear sponsor logos on their shirt sleeves, and the official tote bag carries a shared logo panel. Jetty INK designs and produces the official merchandise, and local businesses hang banners on the perimeter fence.