A Three-Hour Saturday With a Free Gate
The Oregon Burn Center Annual Safety Fair and Chili Cookoff runs Saturday 13 February 2027, from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. in Hall D at the Portland Expo Center. The venue publishes the event as the Oregon Burn Center Safety Fair and Chili Cookoff and lists admission as free.
Fire departments and EMS teams from across the region cook and compete. The event raises funds for burn prevention education and sits inside National Burn Awareness Week, which the organiser places in the first full week of February each year. The Oregon Burn Center is the only specialized burn center in the state and treats patients across a multi-state region.
The Expo Center sits at 2025 North Expo Road, Portland, Oregon 97217. The venue line is 503-736-5200.
What a Tasting Package Buys
A Tasting Package lets a guest sample chili from every team and cast a vote for the People's Choice Award. A guest who wants a smaller portion can taste a few favourites à la carte.
Teams compete for two honours. The Championship Trophy goes to the Judges' Choice, and a championship belt goes to the People's Choice. The organiser also names a Best Dressed team and a Best Mustache.
Neither page publishes a price for the tasting package or for single tastes. Ask the Oregon Burn Center for the figure before you set a per-head budget.
What the 2026 Edition Drew
The organiser publishes three figures from the 2026 run: 900 community members through the door, 14 chili teams and 22 community agencies. Nine hundred visitors across three hours works out to 300 people an hour in Hall D.
The day also carries face painting, games and prizes for children, a judges' panel, emergency equipment to explore, free education and special guests. The 2026 winners were The Spicy Stallions of Oregon Burn Center Staff for Judges' Choice, Pumping Up the Heat of the Legacy Emanuel ECMO team for People's Choice, The Hen House of Vernonia Fire for Best Dressed, and Brian Potts of Corbutt Fire for Best Mustache.
Enter a Team or Take a Table
The organiser invites enquiries from groups that want to enter the cookoff as a team, sponsor or table the event, or ask for detail on the day. A fire crew, a facilities team or a hospital department can enter a pot of chili and cook alongside the first responders.
The organiser publishes no entry fee, no table price and no team size. Ask for all three in writing before a team commits staff time to a Saturday cook.
What the Van Costs
Parking comes compliments of the Oregon Burn Center at this event. The Expo Center's standard rate is $15 per car per entry, and the venue notes that special events can vary the price. Two vans carry $30 in parking at the standard rate and carry nothing at this fair.
The venue accepts cash and major credit cards at its parking facilities. Curbside drop-off zones sit in front of each building, and Halls A and E carry a second drop-off outside the parking lot. Accessible spaces sit close to the entrances and require a DMV disability placard.
TriMet's MAX Yellow Line stops at the Expo Center station, a short walk from the venue entrance. Drivers reach the site from I-5 exit 306B northbound and exit 307 southbound, then follow signs to the Expo Center. Bike racks sit beside the MAX stop and outside Halls D and E.
Fuel is the remaining variable line for a van. Admission is free, parking is covered and the tasting package price stays unpublished.
Pair It With the Festival's Closing Night
The Portland Winter Light Festival closes on the same Saturday, 13 February 2027. Its programme runs 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. and admission is free. A team that clears Hall D at 3 p.m. has three hours before the light art opens, which fits a dinner stop and a walk to an anchor site.
The festival's anchor sites are Pioneer Courthouse Square, the World Trade Center and the Electric Blocks. Most performances take place at those three sites.
Book the Beds
bookMyTeam sends one request to 50+ hotels per destination. The home page publishes 103,857+ hotels across 46 states, a 15-40% band against rack rates, a $0 fee and a 24-72 hour response window. Its glossary defines a group rate as a booking of 10+ rooms. Its Portland directory lists 278 hotels.
Ten rooms for two nights at an example $150 nightly rate runs $3,000, and the published band puts the saving between $450 and $1,200. A Saturday with a free gate and covered parking leaves the room block as the largest cost of sending a team. Send the dates through the RFP form and check a first figure on the group rate calculator.
