Some of the best community events in Australia begin as a great idea, a dedicated team, and a genuine love for bringing people together. That's exactly what you'll find at the Cohuna Chilli Festival, a spicy, family-friendly food van festival in northern Victoria that has been warming hearts (and tastebuds) for four years running.

In this Event Spotlight, we'll explore what makes this chilli festival so special, and how TicketLeap has empowered this festival for the past four years (and counting!).

The community-oriented chilli food festival of Cohuna, VIC

Held every year on the Grand Final public holiday in Victoria, the Cohuna Chilli Festival is a food van festival inspired by all things chilli. Food trucks line up to serve a range of spicy dishes for chilli lovers to push their limits. They also offer lots of food that isn't hot at all to cater to everyone. The festival’s event organiser Tanya Harvey sums it up as "an affordable and fun-filled event with something for everyone!"

Once you're through the gate, your ticket gives you access to free kids' entertainment and rides, live music, the food trucks, the festival bar, and more. Through it all, affordability remains at the heart of the event, with bar prices kept low, food reasonably priced and kids' entertainment completely free.

The real crowd-pleasers are the chilli eating and hot wings competitions, where brave competitors take on the heat as the crowd cheers them on. Tanya MCs the chilli eating competitions herself, and one of her favourite memories came during the 2026 run of this event. Right in the middle of a competition, fireworks went off in the distance behind them. With perfect weather and perfect timing, Tanya said it was "just a random cherry on the cake!" Looking ahead, the festival plans to expand these popular contests with its first kids' competition in 2027.

How TicketLeap helps keep this community festival affordable

For a festival built around bringing value and affordability to its patrons, choosing the right ticketing platform was an important decision. When asked why the team chose TicketLeap, Tanya emphasised its affordability. She explained, “It keeps our pricing down, meaning we can keep the event affordable for our patrons." Lower ticketing costs mean more of the budget can go towards the things that make the day memorable, from free rides for the kids to cheap drinks at the bar.

On the day itself, TicketLeap’s free ticket scanning app makes it easy for the team to get festival-goers inside quickly, so they can spend less time waiting and more time enjoying the food and music.

TicketLeap also plays a big part in running the festival's famous chilli challenges. The team sells competition tickets ahead of the event through our platform, which helps them plan each competition and lets eager entrants lock in their spot early. Tanya's favourite feature is the ability to attach additional documents to competition ticket sales. As she explains, "It means we can include a waiver as part of the ticket sale." For events with activities like chilli eating and hot wings challenges, building the waiver straight into the purchase is a simple way to cover the paperwork upfront and save time and hassle on the day.

Bringing the heat to Victoria every year

The Cohuna Chilli Festival is a perfect example of how affordable community events bring people together. By keeping costs low, offering something for every age and taste, and adding a healthy dose of spice, this is a festival that locals look forward to every year. TicketLeap is proud to power their ticketing for four years and counting. We can't wait to see what next year’s festival holds!

If you're in northern Victoria for the next Grand Final public holiday, grab your tickets and come ready to try lots of delicious food! You can follow the festival on Facebook for the latest updates.