Cairo Elementary School chili feed slated
Popular annual event kicks off Feb. 7
By Brielle Kennington
Argus Observer
Thursday, January 24, 2008 10:29 AM PST
Ontario — The biggest event of the year for Cairo Elementary School is just around the corner.
The annual Cairo Elementary School Chili Feed will occur from 5 p.m. through 8 p.m. Feb. 7 at the school in Ontario.
The chili feed has proved to be popular, and the school served more than 1,400 people last year and raised $10,000 for the school.
Teachers, parents, students and members of the Cairo Elementary School Parent Teacher Organization all chip in to help with the enormous task of preparing for the event.
The PTO organizes the silent auctions, ticket sales, raffle items and, of course, the food. This year the big raffle item is a Kawasaki 50 motorcycle donated by Edge Performance Sports and Mid Valley Construction. Tickets for the raffle are $5 each or six for $25.
Although the chili recipe stays the same each year, organizers face other challenges. For example, in the past the popularity of the event created parking problems. The PTO solved the parking issue by arranging for vehicles to shuttle people to and from the nearby Boulevard Grange all evening.
“We don’t want to move it, we want people to come back to the school. We want our kids to feel important,” Cairo Elementary School ticket sales chairman Darci Payne said.
Although parking was an issue last year, Payne said seating will not be a problem. Twenty-four tables will be set up in the cafeteria/gymnasium with plenty of chairs lined up next to each other. It also helps that many chili orders are eaten on the go.
“I’ve never heard people complain about not being able to find a seat. About half the people take their chili to go,” Payne said.
To-go orders will be offered this year along with assistance from the fifth-grade class which will help deliver the orders. The fifth-grade student are not the only students rolling up their sleeves to help, as the fourth-grade class will be busing tables and keeping the eating area clean. All the students have contributed to the Chili Feed with ticket sales and special chili artwork which will be displayed in the cafeteria.
The students were given incentives to sell tickets including a pizza party for the class that sells the most tickets, prizes for the top three sellers and lunch at Carl’s Jr. with principal Steve Bishop for students who sell $125 in tickets.
The school has used the chili feed as its main fundraiser for more than 50 years, and meal tickets are $5 each. Tickets can be purchased from Cairio Elementary School.
or from school students.
For more information on the Chili Feed call Cairo Elementary School at (541) 889-5745.
