GRAVETTE — Plans have been announced for the upcoming "Smoke on the Border" barbecue competition sponsored by the Greater Gravette Chamber of Commerce. The event is scheduled for the weekend of April 1 and 2 and planners are anticipating that 2,000 to 3,000 people will attend the event.
The competition is sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbecue Society, an international group that sanctions contests all over the world. Contestants will be competing for a minimum purse of $2,500, according to Fred Overstreet, barbecue committee chairman, and he is hoping to attract barbecue teams from four or five states. Inquiries have already been received from teams in St. Louis, Mo., Wichita, Kan., Memphis, Tenn., and Dallas, Texas.
Teams entered in the "Smoke on the Border" competition will prepare barbecue dishes in the four KCBS categories (chicken, pork ribs, pulled pork and brisket) and will be judged by KCBS certified judges. Five Gravette Chamber members have attended training and are certified by the society as barbecue judges and table captains. Being sanctioned by KCBS will bring a great deal of recognition and positive publicity to the Gravette community.
"We are working hard to make this a grand and fun event for the city of Gravette and all the surrounding area," Overstreet said. "This is sure to be a great community event geared toward the entire family and should draw a very large crowd. We are working on other happenings, as well, to make this an incredibly fun two-day event, but we will need help to pull this all off."
Preliminary plans for the event include a Kid's Cook Off featuring hamburgers, a People's Choice competition where folks can sample each of the barbecue entries and vote for the "Best Barbecue," and an "Anything Butt" category where contestants may cook "Anything Butt" the four KCBS category dishes and will be judged by a panel of "celebrity" judges.
Banners, T-shirts, lapel pins and other memorabilia are being prepared to commemorate this inaugural "Smoke on the Border" competition and all these items cost money. Overstreet is now seeking sponsors for the event and opportunities are available in five categories from Main Event Sponsor ($2,000), through Corporate Sponsor ($1,000), Bold Sponsor ($500) and Spicy Sponsor ($300) to Mild Sponsor ($100).
"Your participation is a great way to advertise your business, company, organization or product and create a strong public image of your community support," Overstreet noted.
Individuals, organizations or businesses interested in being a "Smoke on the Border" sponsor should contact Fred Overstreet at [email protected] or call 918-230-3959. They will be given a form to be used when making their selection of sponsorship. Forms should be returned to the Gravette Chamber, P.O. Box 112, or emailed to Overstreet at the email address listed above no later than March 1.
Community on 02/08/2017