On a cold snowy night in Onset, more than 125 people kept warm by coming out to the Chili and Chowder Contest for a night of food, drink and live music.

Twelve contestants cooked up their best chili and chowder recipes for the Feb. 21 event, which benefitted the Onset Summer of Love music series. The Summer of Love puts on free, weekly concerts at the Onset band shell during the summer.

"I'm very happy with the turnout," said Kat Jones, the event organizer. "I was scared about the [snowy] weather but I think people were just sick of being inside."

Jones said the event raised nearly $1,000 for the Summer of Love.

Attendees voted for their favorite dishes throughout the night. The winner of the best chili was Bob Costello of Carver, whose all-meat chili was a previous winner at the contest a few years ago. The best chowder went to Paul Girard of Onset.

Even the dishes that didn't win were popular with the crowd. A team from Kindred Forestview nursing home brought chili and corn chowder to the contest.

"We came with 200 spoons and they're all gone," said Nick Pohl, one of the cooks for the Kindred team.

While people were enjoying their warm meals they were also treated to a performance by Just Like That, a local rock cover band. The band gave attendees a taste of what to expect during the Onset Summer of Love music series, which will run this year every Wednesday night from July 1 to Aug. 19.