With everything that is going on around us right now many people miss being able to sit down and enjoy the simple things in life like a well cooked plate of barbeque, wandering through vendor tents, and hanging out with friends watching fireworks erupt on a warm summer night. Though this weekend was planned back in January for us, as the months drew on it became a fear in the back of our minds that we would have to cancel the BBQ contest and fireworks until next year. As the pandemic progressed and the shut down was lifted we here at Fishstrong decided that we owed it to our community, who have stood by us since our foundations started, to carry on as originally planned in hopes of providing some form of normality in the midst of chaos.
The Barbeque Contest
No event is complete without amazing food and of course we could not disappoint in that department. Here in North Carolina when the thermometer reads 85° the best thing to do is sit back and enjoy a fresh plate of whole hog barbecue, and that is just what we had in mind. Starting on June 26th at 7p.m. all ten of our very talented cooks picked up their pigs and lit their cookers for a long night of cooking. The next day our judges were eager to taste some barbeque and name a winner. The Grand Champion of our 1st Annual Pig Cook-Off was Robert Mattingly with Smooth Boar BBQ second place went to James Lasene and third place went to Tony White. The cooking was so outstanding that there was only a 8/10 point difference between first and third places.
After our winners had been awarded and our contestants thanked, we moved on to the best part of a pig cook-off, eating it. All of the pigs used for our contest were then used to make plates that could be purchased throughout the day as people browsed the local vendors that came out to enjoy the day and waited for the fireworks to start.
The Fireworks show
You can’t think about summer and not imagine sitting on the grass and watching fireworks flying high above your head. As soon as the sun began to set, cars started pouring into our parking lot eager to pay their drive in fee and get settled for a little slice of normal in these trying times. To stay as safe as possible we made sure to inform people to keep their distance from each other by staying in the back of their vehicles or by standing at the left of their cars. Our first fireworks flew promptly at 9p.m. and kept eyes to the sky for a solid 28 minutes without a single moment of empty sky. After and during the show many people came up to tell us that they can’t wait for next year’s show, and that it was the best they had seen in our area.
Changes
Despite all of the successes of our First Annual Pig Cook-Off and Fireworks show we did realize a few things that would need to be changed before we come back around for next year. This year we broke the cooking contest into one long night for the contestants where they cooked throughout the night and were judged at 9a.m the next morning. However, so that attendants that may be interested in watching the judging will be able to attend we do plan to move the event to be a single day event for everyone, with the judging being moved back to later in the day. In the spirit of moving things around, we will also be moving our vendors from the open field to be around the ticket booth and main Fishstrong Station so that patrons are able to visit multiple vendors and see all they have to offer.
Given the turmoil of what this year has brought forth we are thankful to everyone that has made this event possible, from our volunteers and sponsors, to the community, contestants, and vendors that came out to support us. The barbeque was amazing, the fireworks were beautiful, and the day was a blast for everyone in attendance.
We hope to see you at our Second Annual Zombie Run on September 12th, and we hope that you stay safe and Fishstrong.
