Annual Chili Cookoff Fundraiser 2025

Date: Saturday July 26th, 2025

Location: Church of the Crossroads, 1212 University Ave.

Time: 3:00pm to 7:00pm, Dinner at 5:30pm

Tickets: $25.00 per person. Free entry if you enter a chili. Purchase in Advance, or pay at the door. QR Code:

Tickets include:

Dinner: Servings of each chili entry, rice, cornbread, salad, dessert, water/juice/etc.

Live entertainment

One complimentary door prize drawing ticket

Fundraising:

Silent auction

Additional door prize drawing tickets available for purchase

Enter a Chili:

Email LKI808honolulu@gmail.com with your contact information and chili name.

Cash prizes for the winners!

Parking:

FREE from 2:00-8:00 PM on the Makai side lot of the church. Enter from Kaialiu Street.

DO NOT ENTER from University Avenue (Varsity Building lot). This is a PAY parking lot not affiliated with the church.

RIP MEDICAL DEBT

LIMA KOKUA, INC. LAUNCHES CAMPAIGN TO ELIMINATE MILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF MEDICAL DEBT FOR HAWAII FAMILIES.

Lima Kokua, Inc. is working with RIP Medical Debt to eliminate over $3.6 million of medical debt in collections for over 5,400 families across the state of Hawaii.

Lima Kokua Inc. (LKI) is a Hawai’i 501(c)3 nonprofit organization founded in 1962 whose mission is to help improve the lives of those less fortunate in the Hawai’i community with a decided effort to lend a helping hand to other 501(c)3 charities who are either underfunded, underappreciated and/or underserved. 

RIP Medical Debt (RIPMD) is a national 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that uses donated funds to purchase medical debts belonging to financially burdened individuals and families. To date RIP MD has acquired and abolished more than $10 billion of medical debt, helping over 7 million families and addressing a major social determinant of health. RIPMD website link:https://ripmedicaldebt.org

Click Here to Donate to help eliminated medical debt in Hawaii: https://ripmedicaldebt.org/campaign/hawaii/?

Update 4/2024:

Lima Kōkua, Inc.’s campaign with RIP Medical Debt (RIPMD) to eliminate medical debt for Hawaii’s families has be completed.

In total, $3,508,107.80 of medical debt was eliminated for 5,055 families across all islands in Hawaii. RIPMD has started to send letters to the Hawaii recipients.

October 12, 2024: LIMA KOKUA’s CHILI COOKOFF FUNDRAISER
DATE:      October 12, 2024, Saturday
WHERE:     Church of the Crossroads, 1212 University Ave.
TIME:       3:00 PM to 7:00 PM, Dinner at 5:30 PM TICKETS: $25.00 at the door or pay in advance by clicking the link below.

https://www.zeffy.com/ticketing/6105c0f3-fa10-473d-ac1e-e3d886142a8b

  • Ticket includes dinner (tasting of all chilies, rice, cornbread, salad, dessert; drinks include water, juice, etc.) and one door prize ticket.

There will be Entertainment, Door Prizes, and bidding for Silent Auction items.Opportunity to purchase additional door prize tickets on the day of the event.
FREE PARKING from 2:00 PM to 8:00 PM on the side (Makai) lot of church; enter from Kaialiu Street.DO NOT ENTER from University Avenue, the Varsity Building parking lot; this is a PAY parking lot andnot part of the Church of the Crossroads.
Enter a chili:

  • Email your contact information and chili name to LKI808honolulu@gmail.com.
  • Cash prizes for the winners.
  • See attached for additional information and contest rules. 

Lima Kokua, Inc. 2023 Chili Cookoff Fundraiser

Lima Kokua, Inc. 2023 Chili Cookoff Fundraiser DATE: July 29,2023, Saturday WHERE: Church of the Crossroads, 1212 University Ave., Honolulu, HI 96826 TIME: 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM, Dinner at 5:30 PM TICKETS: $25.00 at the door. Advanced ticket sales on Eventbrite, $20.00 plus fees. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/639639808887 Ticket includes dinner (tasting of all chilies, rice, cornbread, salad, dessert; drinks include water, juice, etc.) and one door prize ticket. There will be Entertainment, Door Prizes, and bidding for Silent Auction items. • Opportunity to purchase additional door prize tickets on the day of the event. FREE PARKING from 2:00 PM to 8:00 PM on the side (Makai) lot of church; enter from Kaialiu Street. • DO NOT ENTER from University Avenue, the Varsity Building parking lot; this is a PAY parking lot is not part of the Church of the Crossroads. FOR CHILI CONTESTANTS: 1. Deadline to enter: July 23, 2023. a. One free ticket per chili contestant. b. Cash Prizes: 1st Place = $100, 2nd Place = $75, and 3rd Place = $50. i. Judging will solely be based on the taste of your homemade chili. 2. Email your information to John Tolentino at lki808honolulu@gmail.com: a. Your first and last name b. Contact phone number c. Chili Name 3. No cooking or preparation on site; warming only. 4. Prepare two (2) gallons of chili. 5. Bring your own serving utensils & condiments. a. A pot of rice and/or cornbread is appreciated but not required. 6. Chili must be on site (Weaver Hall) at 4:00 PM. a. Report to Jeff or John Tolentino. b. Judging will start at 4:30 PM. We thank you in advance for your participation and supporting our nonprofit organization.

Lima Kokua, Inc. 2023 Chili Cookoff Fundraiser
DATE: July 29,2023, Saturday
WHERE: Church of the Crossroads, 1212 University Ave., Honolulu, HI 96826
TIME: 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM, Dinner at 5:30 PM
TICKETS: $25.00 at the door.
Advanced ticket sales on Eventbrite, $20.00 plus fees.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/639639808887
Ticket includes dinner (tasting of all chilies, rice, cornbread, salad, dessert; drinks include water,
juice, etc.) and one door prize ticket.
There will be Entertainment, Door Prizes, and bidding for Silent Auction items.
• Opportunity to purchase additional door prize tickets on the day of the event.
FREE PARKING from 2:00 PM to 8:00 PM on the side (Makai) lot of church; enter from Kaialiu Street.
• DO NOT ENTER from University Avenue, the Varsity Building parking lot; this is a PAY parking lot
is not part of the Church of the Crossroads.
FOR CHILI CONTESTANTS:

  • Deadline to enter: July 23, 2023.
    a. One free ticket per chili contestant.
    b. Cash Prizes: 1st Place = $100, 2nd Place = $75, and 3rd Place = $50.
    i. Judging will solely be based on the taste of your homemade chili.
  • Email your information to John Tolentino at lki808honolulu@gmail.com:
    a. Your first and last name
    b. Contact phone number
    c. Chili Name
  • No cooking or preparation on site; warming only.
  • Prepare two (2) gallons of chili.
  • Bring your own serving utensils & condiments.
    a. A pot of rice and/or cornbread is appreciated but not required.
  • Chili must be on site (Weaver Hall) at 4:00 PM.
    a. Report to Jeff or John Tolentino.
    b. Judging will start at 4:30 PM.

60th Anniversary Chili Cook-Off

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

HONOLULU — Lima Kokua announces our 60th Anniversary Chili Cook-Off. The pleasure of your company is requested on July 30, 2022 at the Church of the Crossroads from 3:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. for an afternoon of fellowship and fun. Tickets are $25 and may be purchased from individual members, online, or at the door. Please join us as we celebrate 60 years of fundraising and contributions to those causes who are either or both under-funded and/or under-appreciated. CY 2021 marked a milestone of giving with nearly $50,000 donated to various organizations.

The cook-off will be held under canopy on the great lawn of the historic Church of the Crossroads. Any contestant (being a person who brings a chili intended for entry into the competition) will be entitled to 1 free admission per chili entry. Please refer to the event flyer and contest rules below for further details. As a reminder, the Church has graciously allowed participants at this event to bring their own beer, should they wish to do so, but please be mindful that we are guests in others’ sacred space to be respectful of that. Lima Kokua will provide wine, drinks, and light pupus before dinner.

2022 marks Lima Kokua’s return to hosting our annual chili cook-off fundraiser after a nearly two-year hiatus due to limitations imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. It also marks what would have been, under normal circumstances, our 26th annual cook-off.

Lima Kokua, Inc. is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization who is dedicated to assisting under-funded and under-served organizations. Please consult your tax professional to see if your donation is tax-exempt.

2022 Chili Cook-Off Flyer (pdf)
2022 Chili Cook-Off Flyer (jpg)
Contest Rules

An Ending, A Beginning, A Continuation

Today marks the close of one of the most challenging years in recent memory. For those of us who endured this year, 2020 will forever be used as a signet and a metaphor for all things pernicious and inconvenient. At the same time we bid adieu to 2020, we look forward to the promise of 2021 and restorative work before us. Join us in that endeavor as we strive to rebuild our World better than ever.

Below is one of Walt Whitman’s better known poems, “I Hear America Singing” and it reminds us how resilient we are as humans.

“I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear,
Those of mechanics, each one singing his as it should be blithe
and strong,
The carpenter singing his as he measures his plank or beam,
The mason singing his as he makes ready for work or leaves off
work,
The boatman singing what belongs to him in his boat, the
deckhand singing on the steamboat deck,
The shoemaker singing as he sits on his bench, the hatter singing
as he stands,
The wood-cutter’s song, the ploughboy’s on his way in the
morning, or at noon intermission or at sundown,
The delicious singing of the mother, or of the young wife at work,
or of the girl sewing or washing,
Each sings what belongs to him or her and to no one else,
The day what belongs to the day — at night the party of young
fellows, robust, friendly,
Singing with open mouths their strong melodious songs.”

“I Hear America Singing” by Walt Whitman

Happy New Year, All!

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