DECATUR -- Decatur's Veterans Park will be ablaze with activity from 7 a.m. until midnight at the 62nd Annual Decatur Barbecue on Aug. 1. Many exciting activities are planned for this year's event, including a fireworks display sponsored by the city of Decatur.
The Barbecue is sponsored by the Decatur Chamber of Commerce, which, with the help of many talented Decatur area residents, has put on the event for more than six decades.
The one-day event begins at 7 a.m. with the 2K, 5K and 10K runs at Edmiston Park. All three races begin and end in the parking area south of the concession stand. The popularity of the running events became apparent during the 60th Barbecue when 30 participants braved a severe thunderstorm to compete.
The kids games begin at 8 a.m. at the north end of Pat Drive in Veterans Park. In addition to the traditional Decatur Barbecue games like the sack race, frog jump, bean-bag toss and others during the morning, there will be a rock-climbing wall, water slide, inflatable maze and moon jump on site throughout the day.
Due to logistical problems, this year's car show had to be cancelled. Organizers hope to resume the car show again next year.
One of the biggest attractions of the Decatur Barbecue is the chicken dinners. The first Barbecue, in 1953, cooked and served 2,500 chicken dinners. The cooking crew began at 5 a.m. the day of the event. By late afternoon, it had sold out of dinners. During the 35th annual event in 1988, the chicken-fixing crew, as they were called, prepared 7,500 birds. Sometime in the early afternoon, the crew was afraid it had cooked too many dinners. However, fears gave way to astonishment when, at 7 p.m., it had sold out with two big lines still waiting for dinners. The Chamber will begin serving chicken dinners at 10 a.m. and continue until the dinners run out. Price for a chicken dinner is $6.
The Decatur Barbecue Parade, like the chicken dinners, is another of the event's traditions. This year's theme is: "A Family Affair." Floats will be judged in one of three categories, nonprofit, business and school. Lineup for the parade will begin at 10:30 a.m. near the basketball courts at Decatur City Park. The parade itself will begin at 11 a.m. and take the same route as recent years, down Main St. to Veterans Park.
The grand marshal for the Decatur Barbecue Parade will be Vernon Austin. Austin is a long-time resident of Decatur and is a past president of Decatur State Bank.
In the afternoon, there will be plenty of art and craft exhibits available for those visitors who like to collect a knickknack or two for the living room table or a window sill.
The Chamber will hold several drawings for door prizes throughout the day. It will hold a raffle for two tickets on the Arkansas and Missouri excursion train run from Springdale to Van Buren.
The evening festivities begin at 5 p.m. with the National Anthem performed by Ger Vang. This will be Vang's last performance in Decatur before heading off to Russellville to begin work on a music degree at Arkansas Tech University.
Then begins the 62nd Miss Decatur Barbecue Pageant, live and in living color from the stage at Veterans Park. Kelsey McClain, Leslie Lentz and Megan McAfee, Miss Decatur Barbecue 2014, will serve as master of ceremonies. The casual-wear competition begins at 5:30 p.m., with the formal-wear competition at 6:30 p.m. Once the judges have tallied their scores, McAfee will make one last pass across the stage before giving up her crown to the 2015 Miss Decatur Barbecue.
Beginning at 6 p.m., while the Miss Decatur Barbecue contestants are changing, the ever popular Mister and Miss Decatur Tiny Tots pageant will be held on the stage. Boys and girls, ages 4 to 6, will vie for the titles currently held by Adrina Tilley and Dylan Eller. Both plan to be on hand to pass their titles on to this year's winners. Megan McAfee will serve as master of ceremony for this event.
At 7:15 p.m., the opening performer hits the stage to begin the Barbecue's main event, the concert. Opening this year will be Johnny Dale Roberts. Roberts was the featured performer at the 2013 Decatur Barbecue. He will be followed by featured performer, Jesse Keith Whitley, son of 1988 Barbecue performer, Keith Whitley, and 1989 performer, Lorrie Morgan.
The event concludes with a fireworks display sponsored by the city of Decatur.
Plan on attending the 62nd Annual Decatur Barbecue Saturday at Veterans Park in Decatur and make this year's event a true "Family Affair."
General News on 07/29/2015