Event raises over $12,000 for River Valley Cancer Support Group, We’ve Got Your Back River Valley
The scrumptious scents of brisket, ribs, pork, and more filled the air at the Covered Bridge Golf and Country Club in Hartland. The savoury smells were paired with the exhilarating sounds of live music on Friday and Saturday, May 8 and 9. The event created unique experiences that defined the first Covered Bridge Smoke Showdown.
“The two of us [Brock Polchies and Rob McCormack] have been talking about … something like this for a few years,” said organizers Brock Polchies, “[but we] could never find a spot to do it”.
However, that changed when McCormack spoke with John Trecartin, General Manager of the Covered Bridge Golf and Country Club.
Upon hearing of the event three months ago, Trecartin offered the club as a venue, providing the breakthrough organizers needed.
“[At least] thirty plus volunteers, probably 40 or more, really stepped up and made this happen,” said McCormack, thanking them for their effort.
Once the venue and event were decided, volunteers met as a group and issued a call to the community for prospective charities the event could support.
“We decided that we wanted to be local and we wanted to help children… so we agreed that the river valley cancer support group , and the school backpack programs [would be best]. You couldn’t have better charities, I think,” shared McCormack when asked how they selected the charities.
After selecting the charities, organizers sent applications to vendors and competitors, inviting them to register for the event.
In response, nine teams from around the province and the Maritimes registered, with the furthest hailing from Halifax. The competition then unfolded over the course of the event, as teams had Friday and Saturday to prepare their dishes for judging by a panel.
As judging concluded, Royal Nova BBQ took home the pork shoulder prize, Michael Rock earned both the chicken and rib prizes, McLellan Brand Source won the brisket title, and wanna-be internet influencer Saucy Rossy (Ross Whitehead) claimed the best overall performance prize.
Alongside the competition, there was a variety of publicly available barbecue favourites with all proceeds from sales going to charity.
In total, organizers estimate that over 2,000 people attended, raising more than $12,000 for the two benefiting charities.
Tracy Johnston is the secretary of the River Valley Cancer Support Group. She explained that the money will be used to help cancer patients directly, through donations they can use toward a variety of expenses, from travel to food.
“We also give them a comfort bag full of blankets, shampoos, hand sanitizer, puzzle books, things that you may need to grab and go when you’re going through treatment,” Johnston added.
Similarly, Judy McIsaac, treasurer of We’ve Got Your Back River Valley, said that all funds donated will be used entirely to purchase groceries for students in need.
She also added that donations for the group can be sent via wgybrivervalley@gmail.com.
Looking ahead, Polchies is optimistic about Smoke Showdown’s future.
“We do want to make it an annual event as long as we can keep doing it,” he said. “We’re a group that’s all about charity, and as long as we can keep helping people in the community, we’re going to keep doing that.”
