Cherokee Living Magazine September/October 2007

Every little piggy in Cherokee County should forget the market or staying home and head to the First Annual Cherokee Pignic in Heritage Park! The Cherokee Pignic is an exciting two-day barbecue festival and competition to celebrate fall and determine who will reign as the regional barbecue champion. Local amateurs get their chance to shine in the Backyard Burners team competition. You can sample and judge these rookie contenders’ barbecue in the Lick Your Lips people’s-choice sampling tent. These teams will endure sleep deprivation and billowing smoke for a shot at a $1,200 purse, a Big Green Egg and the ultimate award—bragging rights.

Center stage belongs to the serious barbecue enthusiast, professional teams from across the region competing for a $10,000 purse and big-time barbecue bragging rights. The winner of this sanctioned Kansas City Barbecue Society (KCBS) event (and traditional Southern blood sport) will be selected by certified KCBS judges (sorry public) using established criteria.

Barbecue not your thing? The Cherokee Pignic has plenty more to offer. The celebration will be o­n Friday, October 19 and Saturday, October 20 and is packed with plenty of fall family fun. o­n Friday, families can enjoy an outdoor movie along with a Halloween Costume contest. The Halloween costume contest begins at 7:30 p.m. for ages 10 and under and is free of charge. At dusk, the Film o­n the Farm will feature “Charlotte’s Web,” so don’t forget your blankets and lawn chairs. Vendors will also be selling a variety of foods, including fine barbecue.

Saturday brings more family fun for the piglets. “There’s something for every person and age group,” says Pam Carnes, president and CEO of Cherokee Chamber of Commerce. “Although it isn’t your traditional fair—no Ferris Wheels or merry-go-rounds—children can participate in a three-legged race and the greasy watermelon race. The more mature group can enjoy the antique tractor show and craft demonstrations.” Festival-goers can also look forward to Bluegrass musical performances to liven things up.

The KCBS, members of the 2007 Leadership Cherokee class and other community volunteers are working together to plan this event. “These events occur in communities all over the country, and o­nly about five are in Georgia,” says Carnes. “Jimmy Mayo, of the Mayo Agency/Nationwide Insurance, o­ne of the co-chairs of the event, thought it would be a lot of fun to bring the event into Cherokee.” He couldn’t be more right. After all, barbecue is a favorite of the South.

For those of you still considering going to the market, having roast beef or staying home, note that this event also takes pride in benefiting local charities. “As the Cherokee Pignic grows, it will generate profits,” explains Carnes. “It’s too early to tell how successful the Pignic will be, but non-profits can receive funding through an application process we have set up for the event.”

The Cherokee Pignic hopes to bring an element of excitement to your fall this year. “We think this event is going to be a lot of fun,” say Carnes. “We look forward to making the Cherokee Pignic an annual event.” Honestly, how could any little piggy turn down this fun-filled, charitable event?

About KCBS: The Kansas City Barbecue Society (KCBS) is a non-profit organization for barbecue and grilling fanatics. With over 6,000 members, it is the largest organization of its kind. The KCBS holds more than 200 barbecue events across the U.S. each year.

CHEROKEE PIGNIC 2007
WHAT: Two-day KCBS barbecue event! Family and friends can take part in festival activities and great barbecue. Locals can also partake in a barbecue contest as part of the “Backyard Burners.”

WHO: Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce and Leadership Cherokee class members and alumni invite barbecue fanatics and families to attend the Cherokee Pignic.

WHEN: Friday, October 19 to Saturday, October 20.

WHERE: Heritage Park in Canton, located just minutes from I-575 and Downtown Canton.

WHY: For the love of barbecue, come to the Cherokee Pignic! Have fun, eat some great food and watch how the pros do barbecue.

May 13, 2007

Cherokee County wants to hog all the attention come Oct. 19 and 20. Fans of charcoal and ribs, hickory smoke and heat will arrive in Canton for the inaugural Cherokee County Pignic.

Organizers hope the competitive barbeque cook-off, sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbeque Society, will attract 40 dyed-in-the-sauce cooking teams vying for points that will get them into some of the big national competitions.

The event will also make a place at the end of the table for local non-profits. Jimmy Mayo of Holly Springs, a flame-tested grill jockey, proposed the cook-off as a way to raise money for charity. “Some [sanctioned contests] raise $6,000 to $8,000,” he said.

“Some of the big ones raise up to half a million. This is what got me excited – the potential.” The Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce will assemble a committee to figure out which charities to give the money to and how the applications will be reviewed.

Local aficionados of outdoor cooking will also have a chance to show off in an amateur contest. The two-day competition and its country fair attractions could draw as many as 15,000 people to Heritage Park along the banks of the Etowah River in Canton, Mayo hopes. The chamber is the primary sponsor and organizer.

“Jimmy approached us in June of ’06, looking for an opportunity to get involved in an activity for the county where the funding would be focused on not-for-profits,” said Pam Carnes, the chamber president.

Mayo, who runs a local insurance office, has experience as a cook in sanctioned cook-offs. Organizers plan booths, exhibits, food, music and activities.

Carnes said the chamber will also host a one-day training seminar for those interested in becoming judges for professional barbeque events. The training class will be Aug. 11. and costs $50.

There will be entry fees of about $125 for an amateur grilling team to $250 for the serious competitors. Winners will share about $10,000 in cash prizes. “That’s pretty good for a first-year contest,” Mayo said.

April 25, 2007

About 15,000 people are expected next fall in Canton at the inaugural Cherokee Pignic, a new event that will feature a professional barbecue cook-off and acres of country fair and festival activities, officials announced.

The Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce is organizing the two-day event scheduled for Oct. 19-20 at Heritage Park along the Etowah River.

Planning for Cherokee Pignic has been under way for several months by Chamber volunteers and staff, said Pam Carnes, Chamber president and CEO, as she announced the event during an April 18 press conference and barbecue lunch at the Chamber headquarters in South Canton.

The new event places Canton as the latest Georgia community to join the circuit of sanctioned Kansas City Barbecue Society (KCBS) cook-offs held in more than 200 locations annually. Competing professional barbeque cooks work the grills for points in the KCBS competitions and seek the annual national team championship.
While barbecue is a theme for the gathering, Carnes and other organizers said Cherokee Pignic’s contest for its purse of about $10,000 to $15,000 in its first year is only one of its features. Several booths and family-fun activities are planned.

About 40 professional teams, each with 4 to 6 members, will be in Canton starting on the Thursday, Oct.18 before the Friday-Saturday event, organizers said.

Friday will be free to the public and admission for Saturday will be $5, Carnes said.

A “backyard burner” contest for local amateur barbeque enthusiasts is also planned.

Although lots of barbeque dishes will be on grills in the park, only judges will be allowed to sample the food cooked by the pros, Carnes and other officials said. Still, vendors of barbeque and other food are sure to sign up for the event, the officials said.

Organizers are seeking to draw 15,000 to the event in its first year, – and hope to draw crowds of 50,000 and more within a few years – to spice up economic development locally as a regional tourist event during the fall leaves and North Georgia apple and pumpkin seasons, according to Carnes.

“It’s about bringing recognition to Cherokee County,” Carnes said.

Alumni and members of Leadership Cherokee, a 9-month Chamber program for existing and emerging leaders in its 19th year, are planning Cherokee Pignic, along with Chamber staff members and other community volunteers, officials said.

“It’s going to take all of us to bring this event together and we know that we can do it,” Carnes said during the announcement at the Chamber building in South Canton.

The Chamber is seeking corporate-level sponsors for the event, Carnes said.

Revenues from the first year will be directed to needed equipment and fixed costs for the event as organizers plan for the event to break even in 2007 and to generate profits in future years that will be distributed to area non-profit organizations, officials said.

Betsy Decker, a co-chairwoman of Cherokee Pignic, said family-themed activities will attract many people to Canton for the October weekend.

“It is going to be huge,” said Decker, a member of the Chamber board of directors and owner of Betsy’s on Main Street gift shop in Woodstock.

Cherokee Pignic is scheduled between two of competitive barbecue’s major events: the 28th Annual American Royal BBQ slated for Oct. 4-7 in Kansas City, Mo., and the 18th Annual Jack Daniels World Championship Invitational Barbeque on Oct. 27.

Jimmy Mayo is a co-chairman of Cherokee Pignic and veteran of the professional barbecue competition circuit for three-and-a-half years. Mayo is credited with introducing the idea that is becoming Cherokee Pignic.

The impetus behind the Cherokee Pignic idea was Mayo’s search of many years for a vehicle for raising funding for charities, said Mayo, owner of Mayo Agency/Nationwide Insurance in Holly Springs. When he looks over the crowd as a Cherokee Pignic co-chairman instead at the grill, he will be thinking of the opportunity it raises for generating funds for worthy causes, according to Mayo.

“The best way to raise money for a charity is to get more people involved,” Mayo said.

Cherokee Pignic’s Web site is www.CherokeePignic.com. Companies interested in sponsorships can call the Chamber at (770) 345-0400.

Cherokee Tribune Managing Editor

April 19, 2007

Cherokee County business leaders are cooking up an annual event they hope will help local nonprofit organizations live high on the hog. The Chamber of Commerce and members and alumni of its Leadership Cherokee program Oct. 19 and 20 will present Cherokee Pignic, a Kansas City Barbeque Society-sanctioned competition and festival.

“If you watch the Food Network or read food magazines, barbeque is where it’s at,” chamber President Pam Carnes said as to why they think the event will become an economic engine for the county. “We’re all competitive to some extent, and there’s a lot of competition when it comes to barbeque.”

Organizers, led by Co-chairpersons Jimmy Mayo and Betsy Decker, expect 40 professional teams from across the country as well as “backyard burner” amateurs will register to compete at Heritage Park in Canton.

Those people, as well as the projected 15,000 spectators, will spend money in the county on everything from hotel rooms to gas to bottled water. The prize purse, which will be split among the winners, will fall between $10,000 and $15,000 depending on revenues from entry fees, gate fees and sponsorships.

Mayo, who competes in barbeque contests with his team, Big L’s Sweet Heat, said the purse is large for a first-time event, noting most start out at $6,000 to $7,000. “We’re more for camaraderie and having a good time,” Mayo said of his team, which also has won top prizes at competitions in Georgia and Tennessee.

The idea for the event came from Mayo who will not be competing himself due to his leadership role – “fortunately or unfortunately,” he joked. The Hickory Flat resident and owner of the Mayo Agency/Nationwide Insurance wanted to find a way to help more nonprofit agencies in the community than the several he donates to each year. What better way, he said, than through barbeque.

Money raised by Cherokee Pignic will be used to create a fund which nonprofits can apply for grants from, Mrs. Carnes said. While there is no set fund-raising goal for the first year, organizers are determined to make money.

“If it takes me putting a dollar in the bucket at the end of the day, we will make a profit,” Mrs. Carnes said, adding that volunteers soon will begin soliciting corporations and local businesses to sponsor everything from breakfasts for the teams to the information booth.

The Canton city government already has agreed to help boost the electrical supply available at the park, which is at the intersection of Riverstone Parkway and Waleska Street behind the G. Cecil Pruett Community Center Family YMCA.

Professional teams will pay entry fees starting at $250 and increasing with added site amenities, such as more electricity. The fee for amateur teams, which has not set been set, will be lower, Mrs. Carnes said.

Teams likely will arrive the Thursday before the competition to survey the site and set up. On Friday, the teams will start cooking and continue into the night, when the park will be opened to the public for an old-fashioned county festival that will continue Saturday.

Admission for the public will be free Friday night and include a family movie screening, courtesy of the Canton city government. Admission on Saturday will be $5. The day’s events, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. will include the opportunity to watch the cooks and judges in action, sample some amateur – not professional – teams’ entries, enjoy old-fashioned games, see heritage craft and trade demonstrations, hear bluegrass music and dine on country fair-style concessions.

Residents who want to get in on sampling the professional team’s entries can become sanctioned barbeque judges on Aug. 11 when the chamber will offer training for $50. For information, call the chamber at (770) 345-0400. A Web site also is being constructed at www.cherokeepignic.com.