A team in a previous Chamber of Commerce Chili Cook-off and Outhouse Race.
I don’t actually know how it was that the Chamber of Commerce came up with the idea of combining an outhouse race with a chili cook-off more than twenty years ago. As best I understand it, lots of people have chili cook-offs and they are popular fundraising events and apparently way back when, someone thought it would be good to have something unique added in. I will admit that we were puzzled about it during our first involvement and yet, sure as the world, it does work. I don’t know all the rules, but the racing teams build their outhouses and there is someone inside who steers and the rest of the team pushes through a course that is laid out. It is like the “bed races” except there are outhouses. It is fun to watch and there are bragging rights to be had..
The South Dade Chamber of Commerce Chili Cook-off and Outhouse Race will be this Saturday, Feb 28th from 11:00 a.m.- 5:00 p.m. at Harris Pavilion, Harris Field on Campbell Drive. There are supposed to be over a dozen chili entries this year and there is a professional and amateur category. There are further categories for Best Tasting, Most Unusual, Hottest and Wimpiest, and I don’t recall now if that’s all of them. There will be live music, a jalapeno eating contest as well as other vendors around and if the weather cooperates, everyone will have a good time. The entry price is typically $5 and even though the chili sample size is a small plastic cup, if you try all the entries that basically gives you a whole cup full.
After sampling all the chilis and competing in the jalapeno-eating contest, I wouldn’t be outhouse racing, I’d be racing TO the outhouse!
There probably was some of that as well. This is a “tradition” that ended a few years ago. The usual story of people who initiated it had moved on and there weren’t enough resources to keep it going. Have a great day. Charlie Hudson