Cook-off nearing, team sign-up begins

Published 1:23 am Sunday, February 16, 2014

The eighth annual Museums of Cassidy Park Cook-off and BBQ will take place March 15, and registration for cooking teams is now under way.

Four-person amateur cooking teams will compete in four categories: Beef, Poultry, Seafood and Wild Game. First, second and third place prizes will be awarded in each category.

The Cook-off and BBQ has filled the park with savory aromas, hundreds of hungry visitors, and lots of family fun since its debut.

This year, additions to site, including a new playground and splash pad in the back of the park where the cooking takes place, will add to the enjoyment. On top of that, the Cook-off will bring in live music by Big Daddy O, plus a flintknapper, a bow maker, a face painter, a teepee, horse education and a bake sale.

There will also be “ole time” games for the kids and a variety of raffle opportunities for the adults. And the beneficiary Pioneer and Native American Museums, including their gifts shops, will be open from 1 – 6 p.m.  

Everyone who would like to sit outside for a while is asked to bring a lawn chair because the benches that were in front of the old stage have been removed, and the replacements have not yet arrived.

The gates will open at 2 p.m., but the serving of food won’t start until the dinner bell rings at around 3:30 p.m. It will continue until 6 p.m. As an extra treat, professional chefs will participate outside of the competition.

Tickets to taste all the dishes cost $10 apiece, with children 12 years old and under admitted free of charge. And to further sweeten the pot, each ticket stub will be placed all in a basket from which one will be drawn to win a weekend stay in Grande Isle.  

Organizers say they look forward to sampling the always-delicious variety of food the event makes available all in one spot, and that visitors “will be awed by the many improvements” made in the park since last year.

Cooking team registration costs $25 now and $35 after March 1. Registration closes on March 10.

For additional information about applications, sponsorships or tickets, contact Johni Miles-Blount at 516-2756 or the Museums of Cassidy Park at 735-9188. If there is no answer, leave a name and number so your call can be returned.