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Brooklynites know there’s one place to get their fire-eating, bootie-shaking, culture-digging groove on: "The Chile Pepper Fiesta" at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.

On Sept. 30, chefs, artists and entertainers, who are inspired by the pepper’s beauty and heat, will be on hand to entertain. Alms for Shanti, an "Indo-rock’n’funk band," will get the crowds moving with their blend of satirical lyrics and traditional Indian rhythms, while the Lost Bayou Ramblers, from Lafayette, La., bring a touch of the French Quarter to their Eastern brethren.

Circus masters Robbins and Ringold will astound with chile pepper juggling, fire eating and other flame-related, scare-your-pants-off hijinks.

After dancing, you’ll be hungry, so head for the big tent at the Cherry Esplanade. But bring your ham-on-white if blistering good food isn’t your thing. Among the great chefs in attendance will be Lazarro Navarro of Selena Restaurante Mexicano in Manhattan, who will cook up some of his favorite homestyle spicy recipes. Nirmala Gupta of the Bombay Emerald Chutney Company will be handing out samples of chutneys and sauces including the "Pit Bull Hot Sauce" that, as the name implies, will burn the roof off your mouth.

If your idea of nirvana is art you can eat, then Max Kitano of Sugarworks is your man. Kitano will be demonstrating the art of heating sugar and melding it into edible sculptures. For the celebration, he’ll concentrate on one form - the chile pepper, of course.

Want a memory of the event that won’t last a lifetime? Head to the "Chile Pepper Tattoo Parlor" and get "inked" with a chile pepper to wear until you wash it off. Now that’s hot.

"The Chile Pepper Fiesta" will take place on Sept. 30, from noon to 6 pm, at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden (1000 Washington Ave. between Eastern Parkway and Flatbush Avenue in Prospect Heights). The event takes place rain or shine. Entrance to the festival is free with park admission: $5 adults; $3 seniors and students with ID; free for children younger than 16. For more information, call (718) 623-7200, or log onto the Web site www.bbg.org.

©2006 Community Newspaper Group