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The Parole Rotary Foundation is combining the biggest Kansas City Barbecue Society (KCBS) Sanctioned contest in Maryland with a festival for all ages featuring food, music, local artists and crafts. Admission is free and will be held in the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium parking lot in Annapolis on Friday, May 13 from 4 to 10 PM and on Saturday, May from 11 AM to 7 PM. Funds raised by the Parole Rotary Foundation will benefit the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center for Pediatric Oncology Research.
Governor of Maryland, Martin O’Malley, has sanctioned this event as the “State Championship” KCBS contest. Forty eight professional cook teams, some from out of state, have already signed up, and others are being turned away. More than 60 KCBS certified judges from more than six states will decide the winners of $8,000 in cash and prizes, and the State Champion.
This blowout event, named “Naptown barBAYq 2011” will feature appearances by Bayhawks’ players and cheerleaders, fireworks following their opening game, live music on two stages, a kid’s tent (with balloons, face painting, arts and crafts, live children’s music and more), over a dozen food vendors including four different BBQ’s, beer trucks by Bud Light & Fordham, a Biergarten Tent, and a cornhole game field.
Although ample food and beverages will be available, attendees can sample the meat prepared for the contest by purchasing a $40 ticket for the Peoples’ Choice Tasting Tent that also includes a seat at the Bayhawks game in the stadium on Saturday. Tickets for other food and activities can be purchased on site from the Parole Rotary Club.
Event sponsors include WRNR, Bay Weekly, Chesapeake Bayhawks, Annapolis Produce & Annapolis Seafood Market, Naval Academy Athletic Association, DoubleTree Hotel, Grand Events, Heartland Payment Systems, Anne Arundel Community College Foundation, Executive Wireless, First Citizens Bank and Grand Events.
Don Chomas from the Parole Rotary Club is heading up the more than 100 Rotary team of volunteers who are organizing and running the contest and festivities. Chomas, a former chef himself, said, “This is going to be a professionally judged BBQ cooking contest within this 2-day party, and we would not have been able to pull it off without the guidance and professional draw of KCBS”.
The Kansas City Barbeque Society, formed in 1986, is a nonprofit organization with a mission to celebrate, teach, preserve, and promote barbeque as a culinary technique, sport and art form. Their goal is to have barbeque recognized as America’s Cuisine. KCBS is the world’s largest organization of barbeque and grilling enthusiasts with over 14,000 members worldwide.
For more information about the Parole Rotary Foundation or the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center for Pediatric Oncology Research, please visit us at www.barBAYq.com, on Facebook by searching “Naptown barBAYq”, follow us on Twitter @barBAYq, or search YouTube for “Naptown barBAYq.”
