PHOTO COURTESY OF CITY OF EDGEWOOD

Edgewood’s annual city picnic has fun activities for the whole family - such as face painting (shown above). The picnic will be held Aug. 9 at Edgement Park.

Edgewood annual picnic gets saucy in 2008

By Clare Jensen

Edgewood’s almost decade-long tradition will be getting a new twist this year as competition heats up among the barbecue community.

The annual community picnic, held at Edgemont Park Aug. 9, will feature some familiar favorites from years past, as well as Edgewood’s first ever best chicken and ribs barbecue contest.

Edgewood resident Rick Naug has 17 years experience in competition barbecue, and came up with the idea for the picnic this year to add a little heat to the fun annual event.

“I wanted to get some local talent involved… everyone thinks they’re a barbecuer this time of year,” he said.

And to make the stakes even higher, Edgewood’s Fire and Police department barbecue team has challenged the Milton Fire and Police department team to see which city can grill up the best tasting food.

The competition will be judged by a panel of six professionally trained jurors. So far Mayor Jeff Hogan, Deputy Mayor Dave Olson and Councilmember Enid Duncan have stepped up to the plate to make the tough taste decisions.

The three remaining seats are open to community volunteers.

There’s also room for more teams of two to six to join in the barbecue competition. Participants must pre-register by Aug. 5.

In addition to the contest, food booths, vendors, live music and children’s entertainment will be available throughout the day.

Community members can participate in the beloved cow-chip toss later in the afternoon, and children can partake in the following activities all day long: 18-foot giant inflatable fire truck slide, 30-foot long inflatable obstacle course, sumo suits, and moon shoot target game. Free hot dogs will be provided for everyone, courtesy of the Milton Tavern.

Volunteers for the event are greatly needed, according to city staff.

For more information about booth space, sponsorship, volunteering or participating in the barbecue contest, contact City Hall at (253) 952-3299, or visit the city’s website at www.cityofedgewood.org.

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