North American barbecue teams headed to Falls

A barbecue battle is brewing at Firemen’s Park.

Twenty-five barbecue teams from across North America, including Florida and Saskatchewan, will converge on the Niagara Falls park this weekend for the Summer Daze BBQ Classic.

The three-day event — Friday to Sunday — is sanctioned by the Canadian BBQ Society and the Kansas City BBQ Society, both non-profit organizations of professional barbecue competitors. The Kansas City BBQ Society is the world’s largest organization of barbecue and grilling enthusiasts with more than 20,000 members worldwide.

“Niagara has never had a barbecue competition like this,” said Mike Sporar, organizer and member of the Stamford Centre Volunteer Firemen’s Association.

Sporar came up with the idea to have Firemen’s Park host a barbecue competition after enjoying his own backyard barbecue with friends Chad James and Chris Ratelle.

“We wanted to achieve two things … bring some great barbecue to Niagara and to try to help a couple of charities raise money for their organizations,” he said.

The teams will compete in four categories — brisket, chicken, pork butts and ribs — under the watchful eye of certified judges.

“These are professional teams and some even do this for a living,” Sporar said.

In addition to the barbecue, there will be a kids zone, live entertainment and more than 60 vendors.

Visitors are asked to bring a donation of a non-perishable food item for Project SHARE. Also, monetary donations will be accepted in support of Project SHARE and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Niagara Falls.

Summer Daze BBQ Classic runs Friday 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m. to 7.