When the Lions Club opens the gates to Sunnywood Acres for the third annual Fall Festival Saturday, September 15, the popular event will have a new twist: a barbecue cookoff contest run by the New England Barbecue Society (NEBS) that will draw teams of cooking enthusiasts from all over the region. This contest is the big time: NEBS will run the event according to guidelines issued by the 6,000-member Kansas City Barbecue Society, and issue cash awards for grand champion, reserve champion, and winners one through five in four different categories of barbecue. While he anticipates a lot of participation, nothing would please him more than having teams from Harvard compete for the prizes, said Lions Club member Chris Ryan. Fun is at least as important as finesse, he added. “You don’t have to be a professional.”
Barbecue teams are usually organized in teams of three to five people, Lions Club member Bob Kinnee said. Contestants can enter a chicken, pork rib, pork, or beef brisket dish for a chance at some of the $2,600 in prize money, as well as the prestige that goes along with a winning entry in a regional contest. Plus, Kinnee said, barbecue teams are a friendly bunch, and the whole event is always a good time. While the contest is organized around rules published on the Kansas City Barbecue Society website, the main mission of the organization is “promoting barbecue and having fun while doing so.” For those who want to ‘cue up and start smokin’, more information is available on the NEBS website, www.nebs.org, and KCBS website, www.kcbs.us.
In addition to the barbecue cook-off, the two-day Fall Festival will also feature more than 75 crafters booths and community group representatives, a kids’ carnival, live music, and a concert with fireworks Saturday evening. The doors open at 10 a.m. both Saturday and Sunday, September 16, with a suggested donation at the entrance. All proceeds from the event benefit charitable causes, including the Sight and Hearing Foundation, as well as the Clara Barton Camp in Oxford for children with diabetes and other disabilities.
Fall Festival organizers are still accepting applications from crafters and those who can provide interesting demonstrations such as jewelry making, blacksmith forging, and soap making. For more information, call Bill Kellogg at 978-456-9673.