The Washington Noon Rotary is getting into high gear for the 16th-annual Smoke on the Water festival, but it needs some help.
The club needs cooks for the festival’s barbecue contest and chili contest. Anyone interested in entering one — or both — of the contests should visit www.smokeonthewater.info to print an application or call 252-944-6136. Entry deadline is Oct. 5.
The 2013 Smoke on the Water is set for Oct. 18 and Oct. 19 on the Washington waterfront.
A service project of the club, all the proceeds raised are given back to local nonprofit groups in the community. Some of the groups the club has helped in past years include the Red Cross, the Marion L. Shepard Cancer Center, Eagle’s Wings, Ruth’s House, the Beaufort County Boys & Girls Club and the Little Washington Sailing School.
The festival kicks off at 6:30 p.m. with the Pig Parade, which joins that night’s Music in the Streets festivities. The parade begins on Main Street and works its way along Stewart Parkway, welcoming the incoming barbecue cookers who will set up their gear and get ready for a night of cooking. The Pig Parade is a New Orleans-style funeral dirge, to be led by the Washington High School band. Everyone is invited to join in the “mourning of the pigs.”
Smoke on the Water will feature some of the best barbecue cookers from across the state competing for top honors. The competition is open to anyone wishing to compete for the prize money.
Barbecue is not the only tasty treat on the menu. The Blind Center of North Carolina will host the annual chili cook-off, a festival favorite. A special feature of this year’s chili competition will be the “blind” taste judging. The chili contest is open to the public. Applications may be found at www.smokeonthewater.info or by calling 252-944-6136.
Vendor spaces are also available. Applications and guidelines for vendors are also available at the Smoke on the Water website.
Other festival events include the Eagle’s Wings 5K Race Against Hunger, which takes place at 8 a.m. Oct. 19 on Water Street near the N.C. Estuarium. Eagle’s Wings will sponsor a Ducks on the Water fundraiser at 3 p.m. that same day on the Washington waterfront. The plastic ducks will be sold during the festival at the Eagle’s Wings booth. For more information, call 252-975-1138 or visit www.eagles-wings.org.
A classic car show, sponsored by Down East Rods & Classics, will feature a selection of classic cars and trucks. For more information on the car show, visit DownEastRods.com or contact Tommy Respass at camaro67@redscable.com or Tom Miller at tomarmiller@gotricounty.com.
An annual favorite is the fire-engine pull, sponsored by the Beaufort County Developmental Center, which will test the stamina, strength and endurance of teams of six firefighters. All proceeds from this event will directly benefit BCDC’s Child Development Center and the children it serves.
Washington Police & Fire Services will hold a cancer-fighting fundraiser from 9 a.m. to noon Oct. 19. Donations will be accepted to have your handprint of your choice placed on a police car or fire engine. All proceeds will benefit the Marion L. Shepard Cancer Center.
Live musical entertainment will be presented all day Oct. 19. The musical lineup includes Victor Hudson, Squire Red & The Blues Band, Caroline Dare and Evan Kountouris. Generations DJ will provide dance tunes for those who want to kick up a little dust at the festival, and the ECU School of Theatre and Dance’s Storybook Theatre will have storytelling from noon to 2 p.m. in the Rotary tent on the Washington waterfront. Junius Swain will be roving during the festival, entertaining visitors with magic. Eternal Collision will demonstrate its members’ extraordinary feats of strength. Visit www.smokeonthewater.info to find out more about the entertainers.
Smoke on the Water would not be possible without the support of its many sponsors. They include: PotashCorp-Aurora, Washington Harbor District Alliance, the Blind Center of North Carolina, First South Bank, Gregory Poole, First Bank, Farm Bureau, Flanders Filters, First Citizens Bank, Vantage South Bank, Pecheles Toyota, Dellinger’s Pawn, Lee Chevrolet Buick, Tayloe Pharmacy, Global Consulting, Vidant Beaufort Hospital, City of Washington, Allstate Insurance-Ryan Whitford, Wells Fargo, F. Ray Moore Propane, IBX Outfitters, Feyer Ford, the Washington Daily News, WITN, WRNS-FM, Suddenlink Media and many more.
A map and complete schedule of events will be printed in a special Smoke on the Water tabloid that will be published Oct. 13 in the Washington Daily News.