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Home > Music News > BQ’n Blues Hits Bixby Once Again
BQ’n Blues Hits Bixby Once Again
The most popular event of the year for the Bixby Community is May 12th & 13th. The barbeque competition, blues bands and thousands of attendees create two days of fun and family, all for charity that furthers community development.
Bixby, OK (PRWEB) April 6, 2006 -- On May 12th and 13th, Washington Irving Memorial Park will once again host the Bixby BBQ & Blues Festival. The festival is two days of the State’s best Barbeque and Blues music all rolled into one and is a community fundraiser created by the Rotary Club of Bixby.
Officially sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbeque Society and an official State of Oklahoma Barbeque Competition, the festival is truly the best barbeque competition in Oklahoma. Competitors from Kansas, Texas, Arkansas and all over Oklahoma flock to Bixby in hopes of winning the grand prize of $6000, amongst other awards and prizes. This is great for those families and individuals attending the festival, as the famous “taster kits” can be purchased on Saturday for $5. Taster kits allow one to sample the food from every competitor at the event on Saturday from 10:30a.m.- 1:30p.m, the public can sample the barbeque from the competing teams, while the supplies last. They can also vote for their favorite Team to win the People’s Choice Award.
There is also an area that is dedicated to kids. Jupiter Jump, Giant Slide, miniature horses, and clowns are enough to keep all the kids happy and allow parents to enjoy the food and the music.
Speaking of the music, Friday night has Tru Blu, the Zen Okies, Wanda Watson and Glen R. Townsend heating up the night. Saturday will kick off with the South 40 Band, Dave Berneston and the Duo Sonics, The Bluehemians, Steve Pryor and headlining will be John Lee Hooker, Jr.
"We hope everyone will come out to the Festival. In addition to helping the community, this is an opportunity for family fun, meeting new people, spending spring-time in our beautiful park - all while enjoying good music and delicious barbecue," said Chip Seay, President, Bixby Rotary Club.
The Rotary Club of Bixby used funds from the 2003, 2004 and 2005 BBQ’n Blues Festivals to build the new Rotary Club of Bixby Amphitheater which is located in Washington Irving Memorial Park. Proceeds from previous Festivals enabled the Club to present Bixby Public Schools with a large electronic marquee sign, complete with a digitized message board. Located on Memorial Drive, the sign promotes school activities from PTA meetings to athletic events.
Volunteers are a huge contributor to the success of the event. “Every year, we are blown away by to support and numbers of individuals that dedicate their time to help us put this event on” stated Sean Kouplen, VP/President Elect of the Bixby Rotary Club. “It is great to know that our efforts to better serve the community are in turn supported greatly by our community.”
For more information about Bixby Rotary and the BBQ’n Blues Festival, visit the Rotary Club of Bixby’s website at www.bixbyrotary.com.
About the BBQ & Blues Festival:
Built on a goal of raising funds to erect a digital sign for the Bixby Public Schools, a fledgling Bixby Rotary Club took on a mammoth task of creating a festival that in 2002 attracted 43 BBQ Teams for a competition and 8 Blues bands to entertain. It was a huge success with almost $30,000 raised for the sign to be built (the one that is on Memorial, south of 131st).
In 2003, it was decided that the proceeds for this festival, 2004 and 2005 would be dedicated to building an amphitheatre in Washington Irving Memorial Park as the “Rotary Centennial Project” (Rotary would be 100 years old on February 23, 2005). The 2003 festival boasted a profit of $36,000 and a large increase in attendance. 2004 festival garnered 44 BBQ teams, 9 bands and 10,000 in attendance with a profit of $55,000. 2005 was a great success as well, with 56 BBQ teams competing, 9 bands that played on the Amphitheatre stage. The Amphitheatre project was paid off with an additional donation from Bixby Rotary of $30,000 that went to Bixby Area Neighbors. an organization that provides services to over 1000 families annually.
2005 profits have been chosen to go once again to help Bixby Area Neighbors project, as well as other Bixby Rotary projects that help serve the community.
About Bixby Rotary: The Rotary Club of Bixby is a part of the larger Rotary International. Rotary is an organization of business and professional leaders united worldwide who provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help build goodwill and peace in the world. In more than 160 countries worldwide, approximately 1.2 million Rotarians belong to more than 30,000 Rotary clubs.
Rotary club membership presents a cross-section of the community's business and professional men and women. The world's Rotary clubs meet weekly and are nonpolitical, nonreligious, and open to all cultures, races, and creeds.
The main objective of Rotary is service — in the community, in the workplace, and throughout the world. Rotarians develop community service projects that address many of today's most critical issues, such as children at risk, poverty and hunger, the environment, illiteracy, and violence. They also support programs for youth, educational opportunities and international exchanges for students, teachers, and other professionals, and vocational and career development. The Rotary motto is Service Above Self.
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