Boots and BBQ

The Claremore Reveille Rotary Club’s annual festival offers taste, competition and charity.

If you live in the South, chances are you’re serious about your barbeque. The Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) means business, too.  In fact, they arrange barbeque competitions all over the United States.  The winners get prize money upwards of $7,500 and points toward KCBS Championship status.

The Claremore Reveille Rotary Club, Visit Claremore, Claremore Expo Center, RCB Bank and Walke Brothers Meats come together each year to host a sanctioned KCBS barbeque cook-off in an annual event called the “Boots and BBQ” Festival.  The event will take place June 2^nd and 3^rd at the Claremore Expo Center from 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Special judges will be on hand to adjudicate the 40 barbeque cooks looking for the winning recipes in appearance, taste and tenderness. Taster kits will be available for purchase starting at 1 p.m. and will be served beginning at 2 p.m. You can stroll along and test each cook’s recipes. After sampling, you can judge for People’s Choice.

There’s even something for local barbeque cooks called the Backyard BBQ competition. Anyone not registered in the KCDB is welcome to participate for first place bragging rights.

Other than registration and the taster kits, the event is free and open to the public.  Area vendors will be on hand, along with music and a kid’s area for hours of fun.  But the real winners are the kids of Rogers County.  All proceeds from the Boots and BBQ Festival go directly to every school in the county. 

“It’s our mission to help local schools enhance young student education,” said Tanya Andrews, executive director for Visit Claremore / Claremore Expo and Reveille Rotary Club member.  “We use every penny of the proceeds to offer four to five scholarships to area seniors each year.  We purchase $10,000 in pencils for each school in Rogers County.  This year, we have a matching grant from the Rogers County Salvation Army and gave $6,000 to the Food for Kids Backpack program.”

Reveille Rotary also gives a dictionary to every third grader in the county.

If you would like to register for the Backyard BBQ competition, or if you are local vendor wanting to attend, please contact www.reveillerotary.com