WELLSBORO, N.Y. (WENY) -- Hundreds of people spent their Saturday walking up and down Main Street for the second Winter Weekend in Wellsboro event, Ice and Spice. The day's festivities made people both feel the chill and turn up the heat.

The Winter Weekends in Wellsboro series kicked off last weekend and continued today with Ice and Spice bringing chili, chowder, chocolate, and ice sculptures to the streets. All of this was for a good cause, helping at-risk animals in the area.

"It helps our animals so much," said Jim Howe, the president and co-founder of Second Chance Animal Sanctuaries in Tioga."We get the funds from the passports and the shops donate the chili. They come up with the chili, they come up with the recipe, they come up with the chef, and they come up with their basket of chocolates. And for the price of a passport, which is $10, you get to go to 15 shops and have fun. Visit the shops, enjoy some great shops around Wellsboro, and enjoy some chilies and chocolates."

Second Chance Animal Sanctuaries have hosted Chili and Chowder with a Chance for Chocolate for about 10 years as part of the Wellsboro Winter Celebration. Now, the annual downtown celebration is expanding into several weekends in February with the Ice and Spice event combining Second Chance's chili cook-off fundraiser with ice carving demonstrations in the street.

"Yeah, at the end of the day, that's the most important to help the rescue place," said Armando Gonzalez, a manager at Los Agaves Taqueria. "So for us, it's just another day working and we enjoy helping other people too."

Gonzalez works at Los Agaves Taqueria, one of 15 businesses that participated in the chili and chowder cook-off.

People who purchased a passport could head to a tasting site, try each chili or chowder, enter their names in each store's chocolate raffle, and then vote on their top three favorite dishes. All proceeds from the purchase of passports go back to the animals at Second Chance, helping with whatever the organization may need to keep them happy and healthy.

One group of participants that tasted food on Saturday were Randy and Louise Brunstetter, and Bill and Sue Cox who say they've come to the event in previous years and love to keep coming back.

"It's just been cool getting to see the different vendors in town, the different store owners, and we're going all out putting out some good products for us this morning," said Randy. "So we're really enjoying the chili and the chowder."

"Oh, and the ice sculptures oh my gosh, today is like the first time they didn't melt and so we got to see somebody working on them, it was really cool," continued Louise.

While the cook-off is a big part of the event, Sue and Bill add that it's also a good way to socialize with the community.

"We've also run into a lot of our friends, a lot of people that live in the area and we bump into them and it's a really nice time," said Sue.

Bill continued, "Wellsboro is such a beautiful little town to walk in, so it doesn't matter what's going on, it's just a friendly little town.">

A little spice, a little sweet, and a whole lot of community. Whether people came out to Wellsboro for the chili and chocolate, the ice, or just the warm company, the second Winter Weekend event brings people together one delicious bite at a time.

Next weekend, on February 15, Cupid's Weekend is headed to Wellsboro with horse-drawn wagon rides, ice skating, and live music.

More information on upcoming Winter Weekends in Wellsboro events can be found here.