Central Valley Martial Arts, which won the SOUP event for 2016, puts on training for kids with special needs and autism. Photo taken from Facebook.

Following the success of its introduction in March, the Visalia Chamber of Commerce will host the second SOUP crowd-funding event on October 20th.

Located at 6200 S. Mooney Blvd, the Tulare County Office of Education Redwood Conference Center, SOUP will gather various members of the community for a night of fundraising and community development.

Along with soup and bread, the dinner includes presentations done by four entrepreneurs seeking to expand business, begin a community project, create an event, or anything of the sort.

Once on stage, presenters will showcase their idea to the audience without technology for four minutes. Following, they will answer a total of four questions from the crowd.

When presentations are completed, audience members will vote on which project they believe will best support the county.  The winner will receive money generated from the event to support their project, including the minimum five-dollar donation recommended per guest.

Previous winner of the event was Martial Arts for Kids with Autism, which went against competitors, Every Second Counts, Cali Crave Vending, and Imagine Rock School. Winners are required to return to a future SOUP for feedback on the progress of their project.

The community is encouraged to submit presentation proposals, as the deadline is October 6th. To submit a proposal, visit http://www.visaliachamber.org/soup.