Big T Memorial BBQ Cookoff & Music Festival to take place in Freestone County
The Big T Memorial BBQ Cookoff & Music Festival is just around the corner! Get ready to celebrate and raise money for children with special needs Friday-Saturday, Sept. 7-8 at the Freestone County Fairgrounds. Title Sponsor for the event is the City of Fairfield. Proceeds benefit children with special needs in Freestone, Anderson, Navarro, Leon, and Limestone counties. This year there will be a Lone Star BBQ sanctioned event. Prize money and trophies total a whopping $10,000! First place through 10th place in each category will receive prize money, as will Grand Champion and Reserve Champion. Fee to enter is $200 per team and allows entry into any or all of the three categories: brisket, pork ribs, and chicken. There will also be a Cook’s Choice Calcutta on Friday evening. Entry fee is $20 and winning team gets 80 percent of the pot. A second Calcutta competition will be held Saturday for beans. Entry fee is $20 and winning team takes 80 percent of the pot. Teams may enter online or the day of the event. All rules are available online. Winners will be announced and prizes awarded at 5:30 p.m. Saturday evening. New this year is a Kids’ Cooking Event on Saturday. They will be serving up creative takes on the classic slider. Rules and entry forms are available online. Musical lineup for Friday night includes Blacktop Mojo and JB and The Moonshine Band. Bands take the stage beginning at 9 p.m. Saturday night’s entertainment features Mitch Ballard with D. Vincent Williams and N’Sync’s Chris Kirkpatrick; Cameron Nelson; and Little Texas. Music starts at 6 p.m. Gates open at 5 p.m. each night.
Friday night tickets are $15 each; Saturday night entry is $20 each. Weekend Passes ($25) and VIP Passes ($60) are available online through Saturday, Sept. 1. There will be food trucks on site both nights offering a variety of concessions to satisfy your appetite. Due to permitting issues with the City of Fairfield, the beer garden will not be available as originally planned. Big T Memorial apologizes for the confusion and inconvenience. If you love playing 42, there is one more reason for you to join the fun on Saturday. The first ever 42 Tournament, sponsored by XTO Energy Farrar Production Office, will begin at 6 p.m. in the Green Barn. Registration starts at 5 p.m. and entry is $20 per person. Tickets for the big raffle are on sale now, and may also be purchased at the event. The raffle offers up three great prizes:
Fender Stratocaster Electric Guitar signed by the 2018 Big T Bands, plus Whiskey Meyers, Josh Ward, Bleu Edmondson, Scooter Brown, Bri Bagwell, Jody Booth, Stormy Cooper, and more!
Ride Along with CAF – Coyote Squadron in the Pride of Corsicana PT-19 WW2 open cockpit training aircraft for 30-45 minutes. Must be at least 18 to ride.
All Inclusive guided hog hunt for two on the F.E. Hill Ranch with Trinity River bottoms and rolling hillsides.
Individuals need not be present to win. The first winner drawn will receive first choice; second drawn gets second choice; and third drawn takes final prize. Raffle tickets are $20 each or 6 for $100. They can be purchased at the event or from any member of the Golden Circle Special Needs Association Leldon Childs
Jeff or Matt Kirgan
Nicole Schaefer
Garret Scherer
Shannon and Butch Margraves Heather and Justin Hawkins
Volunteers are still needed for the event. If you are interested in helping out in anyway, please contact one of the board members listed above. To find out more about this event, to register your cook team, or purchase event tickets, visit www.BigTMemorial.com or find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/bigtmemorialcookoff.