BYRON -- With the defending champion out of the competition, Tony McKinney thinks his grandma’s chili recipe might be good enough to win the Battle of Byron Chili Fest.

If not, he has a second entry called, “We don’t forget you,” which he said might be too spicy for even him to eat.

“I don’t even know that we’ll eat the chili,” McKinney, a fourth-year entrant, said.

With five entrants in Saturday’s competition at Jailhouse Park, the chances are good for McKinney, who finished second last year. McKinney and his ARQ Pest Control business partner Chris Raymond will spend most of their morning preparing the chili.

He said one of the ways he thinks his chili is better is that he makes the chili and then lets it sit for a few hours. “I do it like my grandma did,” said McKinney. “It was always better the next day.”

The winner of the Chili Cookoff receives $500. McKinney said whatever they win will be used to give back to the community with sponsorships of Recreation Department activities and Nightmare on Main Street, Oct. 31.

The chili judging is from 2-4 p.m. and costs $5. There also will be a 2 p.m. concert by The Loose Skrews, arts and crafts vendors, children’s games, cake walks, karaoke, a nighttime hayride and an outdoor movie.