By Dave Fidlin
Correspondent
The savory smell of barbecue will be wafting through Cravath Lakefront Park this weekend.
The Downtown Whitewater organization is ushering in summer with the return of Pig in the Park, the Kansas City Barbecue Society-sanctioned cook-off competition that will give enthusiasts an opportunity to show off their meat preparation skills.
This is the second year Downtown Whitewater is holding Pig in the Park in the city. In a twist from last year, event organizers have decided to hold it at the beginning, rather than the end, of the summer. (The inaugural Pig in the Park took place in September last year.)
While the cook-off is the centerpiece of the event, Tamara Brodnicki, executive director of Downtown Whitewater, said there are a variety of festivities on tap that are designed to appeal to everyone.
At press deadline, Brodnicki said 29 contestants have signed up to take part in this year’s competition, and the number could continue to rise in advance of the event. Last year, there were 30 contestants.
Beyond the competition itself, events for the entire community will begin at 6 p.m. Friday. On day one, the schedule includes an inflatable area for children, a food court for people to enjoy barbecue and karaoke with musician Paul Lothary.
Public festivities on Saturday kick off at 10 a.m. and include a craft fair, inflatable area for children, food court, motorcycle show and an awards ceremony for the Pig in the Park contestants.
The park also will be rocking Saturday with a number of acts performing throughout the day, including The Booze Brother, Paul Filipowicz and Titan Fun Key.
With the weather appearing as though it will cooperate, Brodnicki said she and other event organizers are hoping for a good turnout.
“We had about a thousand people come through last year, which was great considering it was the first year,” Brodnicki said.
In the past, Brodnicki said various scaled-down iterations of Pig in the Park had taken place within Whitewater without much success. Unlike Pig in the Park, past events were not sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbecue Society.
With backing by the national organization, a larger pool of competitors have come forward to take part in the competition – in part, because prizes and advancement to other KCBS events are possible.
Judges from KCBS will be on hand throughout Pig in the Park to assist with judging the various entries.
While Downtown Whitewater is spearheading Pig in the Park, 18 community-based businesses and organizations are assisting by pledging monetary support.
The list of this year’s sponsors includes Associated Bank, Commercial Bank, Dale’s Bootery, Dalee Water, Denny K’s Bar and Grill, First Citizens State Bank, FrameDog, Frawley Oil Company, Generac, GMA Printing, Ketterhagen Motors, Lakefront Pub and Grill, Mr. Sticky, Provisur, Quiet Hut Sports, The Scharine Group Inc., When Pigs Fly and the Whitewater Tourism Council.
For more information, visit www.piginthepark.net.
