The season opening weekend was like a buffet, so many things to do so little time to do them. There was virtually something for everyone. Your meals were taken care of by the area clubs and organizations. Friday night started off with the spaghetti dinner at the Horace Palmer Jr. Post 308 American Legion. For breakfast Saturday morning the Longbridge VFD took care of your needs. For Saturday’s lunch the states best BBQ was at the Lake Gaston Chamber grounds. The Lake Gaston Lion club was ready with their annual fish fry for dinner.

If you wanted entertainment, The Gastonettes performed at the Littleton United Methodist church on Saturday. If theatre is your cup of tea, Lakeland was your answer with Pump Boys and Dinettes. The Ridgeway Opry House was also open on Saturday.

The weekend activities also included education from the Lake Gaston Water Safety Council with their informational trailer; the NC Wildlife Officers were on hand at Eaton Ferry Marina with an educational display and to answer your questions.

Their were several other events scheduled including the Littleton Seniors Happy Club annual banquet and the Fat Ammons band was scheduled to be at the Square in South Hill.

The Horace Palmer Jr. Post 308 American Legion and “Chappie” James American Legion Post 425 members and their Auxiliary members were distributing poppies throughout the area. Longbridge VFD members were on hand for their annual bucket drive. The Pilots Club in Roanoke Rapids provided a light a candle for Veterans service.

On Sunday American Legion Post 308 held its annual Memorial Service. One of the largest crowds I can remember attended the service. The speaker, Post 308 Vice Commander Richard Kohl, talked without notes. Kohl was able to take you back to his time on hill 881s in the Northern most part of Vietnam. He was able to weave all the events into a message that is true today. (See article on page 1)

For myself the weekend started, as I generally do, with the Annual Battle of BBQ preparations at the Lake Gaston Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber sponsors the event and has seen it grow larger and larger each year. This year was no exception.

This year there were several newcomers. This was in a large part because of Joe Peterson. Joe attended the annual Newport Pig Picking Contest in Newport. I talked with three new teams who came to the Lake thanks to Joe promoting the Chamber Battle of the BBQ while attending their event. (It probably didn’t hurt that Joe took second place in Newport.)

I like to go on Friday night while they are setting up so I can talk to members from the various teams. The BBQ Cooking teams are like an extended family. The early part of the evening is spent setting up, having dinner and socializing.

There were many stories this year about last year’s Friday night winds and rain. One team had to get a new tent because of the destruction caused by the storm.

The one thing I enjoy the most is trying to get pictures and comments. Just like a family there are people who do little to no talking and there are those who will bend your ear for hours. I generally see a scene that I take a picture of and then I ask for comments. Invariably the person who was the center of the picture does not want to say anything. Then they go around the circle until someone agrees to talk. I keep telling them this is not the New York Times, I’m not trying to get a tell all story.

One thing I find interesting are the stories about how far they travel for a cook off and how they got started. It is not uncommon for teams to travel 200 to 300 miles for an event. Most of them started with another team and after a while they enjoyed it so much they made or bought their own cooker. For them it is a hobby just like fishing or crafting.

I was surprised to learn that the different teams are really good friends. They are more than willing to share just about everything except their recipe. When you ask about the recipe they generally say something like, “I’d love to tell you but then I’d have to kill you.”

One group we ran into had four teams with their tents hooked to one another. They were all sitting around in one big group eating and telling stories when we showed up.

The BBQers have to spend their entire night cooking a hog. This past week they got the hogs about ten o’clock and then had to prepare them for cooking. Most of them stay up all night tending to the hog. Kids, like most kids, say they will stay up when you ask them on Friday night, but on Saturday morning you learn they generally didn’t make it through the night.

Right before the judging they spend time making the hogs look good. This is an art form in itself. They have a routine they go through including spraying oil on the hog to make it look good and placing apples and pineapples around the hog. Some teams have a table set up for the judges.

These tables look like they are in a five star country restaurant. Fine table clothes, good china and perfectly clear stemware. One of the teams even served wine. (I don’t think the judges have enough time between drinking the wine and judging to impact on the scores.)

After the judging the teams help one another out stripping the hogs and preparing the BBQ for sale. The sauce from the previous year’s winner is used by everyone. That is why every year the BBQ is always the best but may taste different than last year’s.

To think all of this is done to compete for a couple of trophies. In almost every case the teams I talked with cook at fund raiser events. For most of the teams this is a family event that they all appear to enjoy.

I have not made it to every Annual Battle of the BBQ but I have attended enough to know that for me it is not complete unless I spend time on Friday night to meet and enjoy the company of the participants. Most people enjoy the time on Saturday afternoon eating the results and having fun. But I still like finding out about the lives of the cookers and their families.

I guess I better rest up until next Memorial Day, maybe next year I’ll try to stay up all night. I suspect I’ll be like the kids – it is a good idea on Friday night, but come Saturday morning you’ll probably find me sleeping.

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