Leavenworth Lions Club keeps roasted chestnut tradition with new approach

LEAVENWORTH – Freshly roasted chestnuts has long been a hallmark of Leavenworth’s Christmastown festival, thanks to the efforts of the Lions Club. For decades, their work has kept the holiday tradition alive downtown, even as the club has adapted its approach in recent years.

“When people hear the word ‘nut,’ they think they're crunchy, but they're not. They're very soft, like a sweet potato, almost,” said Lions Club member Anita Wilkie. 

For many years, Lions Club members would get together each week to score chestnuts, then a few more would volunteer long, cold days, to freshly roast and sell chestnuts, along with cider and hot chocolate, out of their Bavarian wood trailer downtown. The chestnut sales raised money to support the club’s local service initiatives, but the Lions still managed to keep costs low for all families to partake in the tradition.

“There are so many people who love these chestnuts, and for some it's really a cultural thing. They grew up with them,” said Wilkie.“It was an important fundraiser for us, but it was also, to a degree, sort of a service.”

Last year, the club decided to pivot from selling chestnuts themselves, due to the significant time and labor involved. They sold their Bavarian-style trailer, which they had worked out of for years, to the Leavenworth Chamber of Commerce, which now serves primarily as a mobile visitor center.

“That was one of those projects that was very intense, and there were a lot of moving parts to it,” said Lions Club member Dorothy Nilles.

Despite the change, the Lions Club remains at the heart of the chestnut tradition. Now, the Lions work behind the scenes, sourcing and scoring the chestnuts, then selling them to a vendor. The vendor continues the custom, selling the chestnuts out of the club’s former trailer during the festival.

“It's such a beautiful trailer. We just love that the trailer was taken on by the Chamber…It makes me smile when I walk downtown and I see it,” said Wilkie.

Every Monday afternoon, from the week of Thanksgiving to Christmas, the volunteers gather at the Nilles’ for a few hours to score chestnuts together. It’s a social affair, with volunteers chatting while they score and fueling up with home baked goods and warm drinks. 

In each session, the volunteers will score between 350 to 500 pounds of chestnuts sourced from Selah, Washington. By the end of the season, the volunteers will have scored 2,300 chestnuts.

Recently, they’ve invited other organizations to participate and share the proceeds, such as Philanthropic Education Organization (P.E.O.), which provides scholarships to local women, and the Leavenworth Masons, who support early reading and language skill building initiatives. The tables of volunteers are often a mix of members from all three organizations, with some who participate in multiple, such as Lion and Mason Dave Wilkie.

“I found that it's refreshing to have cross-club interactions. All of us have the best interest of Leavenworth in mind,” said Wilkie.

The roasted chestnuts, a cherished symbol of the season, can still be found on Front Street near the Gazebo, bringing warmth and nostalgia, all while supporting local initiatives.

Taylor Caldwell: 509-433-7276 or taylor@ward.media