RAINIER, Bring a crockpot of chili to Ol Pastime Tavern in Rainier this weekend, and you could help decide which local nonprofit walks away with the money.
The tavern’s 19th annual chili cook-off starts at 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 25, at 105 E. A St.
How It Works
Anyone can enter. Show up with a crockpot of chili and it goes on the table with everyone else’s. Most years, about 20 pots turn up, according to The Eagle.
Nobody pays a set price to eat. Tasters drop in whatever donation they choose, then sample, judge and vote.
The vote also picks the charity. Owner Sloan Nelson and the bartenders choose three local nonprofits ahead of time, the crowd decides which one gets the proceeds, and the Nelson family adds a match, The Eagle reported. Nelson told the paper the tavern wants the money to stay in town because Rainier has plenty of needs.
Where the Money Has Gone
Last year the cook-off raised nearly $1,200 for Power On With Limb Loss, a group that supports amputees and people with limb differences. A tavern employee nominated it.
In 2024, the winner was an effort to give Walmart gift cards to children in foster care in the 97048 ZIP code, which covers Rainier.
The Nelsons have hosted the cook-off every fall for 18 years before this one, according to The Eagle’s 2025 coverage. Sloan Nelson told the paper then that the family took a familiar idea, made it their own and turned it into a fundraiser.
Questions about entering go to the tavern at 503-556-2442.