The Rotary Club of Dunwoody and the Kansas City Barbecue Society are sponsoring a barbecue event that will be held September 7 and 8 at Perimeter Mall in Atlanta. I have asked that they make this a Family of Rotary event as it is an excellent opportunity for Rotarians and their clubs to get together, meet, and have a great time.There are activities for families (including children) to show off their barbecue skills in what promises to be one of the largest barbecue events in the State of Georgia. The City of Dunwoody has sanctioned this event as a community Signature project.

I am asking you to come and enjoy the food, the bands, and kids activities - and for your club to enter the barbecue contest in the Backyard Division. Unfortunately, the initial registrations for Backyard entries are limited to 20.That means that you will be entered in this Division on a first come basis. If room permits at the site, additional space will be allocated to any teams on the waiting list. It is currently estimated that an additional 60 professional teams will enter and any shortfall in this number will be allocated to backyard teams.

There are no admission fees for entry into the barbecue event. You are welcome to come and enjoy all of the activities. There will be tickets sold for $1 that are “tasting” tickets to enable you to enjoy the cooking of professional chefs from all over the country. There are fees for teams participating and I encourage you to consider entering two barbecue events. These are

• The KIDS QUE – an opportunity for children between the ages of 6 and 15 to show off their skills. A grill, charcoal, and the food to be cooked are provided and the grill goes home with the child. There will be trophies and cash awards to the top teams. The fee for entering the KIDS QUE is $50.
• The Backyard Division - This has several requirements attached to it. You must agree to cook chicken, ribs, and pork butt (You provide the meats). You will be judged by KCBS official judges and are eligible to win cash prizes in each food category as well as compete against the Rotary teams for a traveling trophy and a cash gift to your favorite charity. You will be required to enter the People’s Choice competition too, but at no additional cost to you. We will provide the chicken wings and two pork butts for the People’s Choice competition. These will be used to provide the public with a taste of your barbecue. People’s choice barbecue may actually be cooked off-site and brought to the contest. All other barbecue must be cooked on site. The fee for Backyard is $150 and includes a 10X10 space, the food for People’s choice and other items that will be provided by sponsors.

I have picked this event for THE FAMILY OF ROTARY as I believe it provides an opportunity for Rotarians to do what we do best; support each other, support our communities, and support our causes. All of the profits raised by this event will go to children’s education, first responders, and our most needy international projects. Please go to the dunwoodybbqfestival.com website and register your teams now. AND REMEMBER ...

“HAVE FUN AND THEY WILL COME”.