Fairview's Pork In The Park a SMOKIN' success

The first ever Pork in The Park barbecue competition in Fairview was deemed a success. A forecast of severe storms on Oct. 26 garnered a consensus among the contestants and organizers to reschedule the event for Saturday, Nov. 2 and hope for better weather. 

Their hopes were answered as the day dawned cold, crisp, and with the smell of wood smoke in the air. 

Many of the contestants arrived at the Bowie Park cooking grounds Friday evening to set up and start their overnight vigil of cooking "low and slow." Each team cooked up pork butts, pork ribs, and a Chef’s Choice item, which could be anything cooked on a smoker, but not one to be turned in for judging in any other category.

The gates opened to public at 12:30 p.m. and members of the community and the surrounding area came out enforce to show their support. For the $10 entry fee, each person received a pulled pork sandwich, bag of chips, bottle of water, and dessert.  Sheila Staggs owner of The Blooming Buttercream donated beautifully decorated cupcakes for the dessert.

Each person also had the opportunity to sample a wide variety of Chef’s Choice items and select their favorites by dropping money into donation jars located at each competitor’s table.

Among the items available to sample, the smoked alligator (Gator on the Grill) offered by Fairview’s Swinest was the most unusual and received the most comments on social media. 

At the end of the day, however, the team with the most donations in their jar was Steakley and Company, winning the People’s Choice award trophy for their wings. The Steakley and Company team members were Brian Steakley, his fiancé Katie Carter, and his mom Cheryl Welch.

“Brian started cooking Friday night at the park. We made ribs, pulled pork, and wings as the Chef’s Choice item. Brian’s mom, Cheryl Welch, made the BBQ sauce that we paired in our sample trays,” said Katie.  “I told [everyone], ‘if you like what you taste we are accepting donations in our little pumpkin’ bucket’.”

The judges awarded the title of ‘Best Pork Ribs’ to Fairview’s Swinest, comprised of David Marks and the Tomlinson family.

David advised, “Time and temperature is important to my recipe, and we won the ribs which are my specialty.”

Fairview’s Swinest won a $100 prize, which they donated back to the playground fund.

The Butt Rubbing Flamers were awarded the title of ‘Best Butts’ and were named the overall winners of the competition.  They received the grand prize of a six-burner gas grill donated by Tractor Supply.

All proceeds from the event were donated to the Friends of Bowie Nature Park’s Bowie Playground Fund. Friends president, Eileen Brogan, announced that the event raised $12,209 as of November 9, including the entry fees, gate, People's Choice, and sponsorships.  

“This event raised funds as well as community awareness of the playground project. There will be many more playground related events, plus we will apply for grants,” stated Brogan.

The new playground is expected to cost over $500,000, dependent upon the final equipment selection, could top $1.5 million.

Some T-shirts are still available for purchase, while they last, at Best Place on Earth Designs, 2094 Fairview Blvd., in front of Food Saver.

The 2nd Annual Pork in the Park BBQ Competition has been tentatively scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 17, 2020.  For more information, visit www.bowieporkinthepark.com.

For more information about the Bowie Playground Building Project, visit https://www.facebook.com/Bowie-Playground-Build-100357648050403/.