Zebulon —”Yee Haw! It’s Cowboy Day.” That banner greeted East Wake Academy students last Friday. Students and teachers alike responded in kind with cowboy hats, boots, flannel shirts and jeans.

Just to make it official four horses and a colt grazed on school grounds.

The centerpiece of the day was a chili cookoff with teachers cooking their best gourmet cowboy brew, said Jana Allen, media coordinator for the school.

Entries enticed 9 judges from the community who had to select a winner, the most original, the best looking and cowboy hot, or the spiciest.

“This one is sweet,” said judge Renee Helms of Parrish Realty, as she sampled one of the recipes. “It’s delicious. Not spicy”

Melodie Hunter of Chocolate Works of Zebulon put her refined palette to the test.

“They’re all different,” she said. “It’s not your typical chile flavor, but they all have the chile characteristics, so I’m going to have to do enni, meanie minie moe.”

But that doesn’t mean Hunter wasn’t discriminating.

“This one tastes like it has spices from apple or pumpkin pie,” she said. “It gives me some ideas for experimenting at home.”

Lunch hour was a prime chili tasting time for judge and East Wake mom Jessica O’Brien of Whitley’s Gallery’s of Zebulon. The

“The smell of the chili is fantastic,” she said.“I like to come to the school as much as I can. But between work and three kids, it’s sometimes difficult.”

Judge Kimberly Collins of E Computer Plus in Knightdale cast her top pick quickly.

“I like number 11,” she said. “It’s the most original. It was hearty. It was bold. It was different because it had the corn.”

Collins also had kudos for the event.

“It was very community oriented and brought families here, the teachers and the students,” she said. “It was just a fantastic occasion.”

The day also include student assemblies for middle schoolers and elementary students with performances by a fiddles, a banjoist, the school chorus and the student step team.

It wouldn’t be complete without two cowboy parades during the day -- one for the youngsters and the other for the older students.

This is the fourth year the school has celebrated Cowboy Day.

It got its start after faculty was looking for a celebratory event to commemorate their principal Brandon Smith’s selection as the regional charter school principal of the year.

They wanted to throw a school-wide festival and settled on Cowboy Day to pay homage to Smith’s western attire that he often dresses in and his equestrian ways. He likes to ride horses.

No contest would be complete without the announcement of winners. Taking top place was the chili cooked up by Linette Sherwood. Most original went to Melody Amerson. Best appearance went to Sherwood too. And the cowboy hot for the spiciest concoction went to Cheryl Johnson.

Additional judges were from Wendell Printing, Four Oaks Bank, Sycamore Crossings and All State Insurance of Zebulon, and Total Connection of Wendell.