Barbecue: A rite of Labor Day weekend
♦ With the Knights of Columbus hard at work, the Civic Center is already an aromatic delight.
If this is Labor Day weekend, members of the local chapter of the Knights of Columbus must be getting ready for their annual fundraising barbecue at the Rome Civic Center. And so it is!
Just as they have done for the past 50 years, Knights will be busy through the night getting their tasty beef, pork and chicken ready for when doors to the civic center open at 10 a.m. Monday.
Knights of Columbus barbecue leader Jim Powell said the crews actually started working on the meat for the Brunswick stew Friday night.
Pork and beef crews will be working all day today and the chicken crew will start early Monday morning.
“They’ll be cooking all the way up until we open the doors at 10,” Powell said.
“All the Knights will be coming in around 6 (a.m.) to start chopping the barbecue. I would say we’re looking at between 150 and 200 people that are involved in the different facets of the barbecue.”
The sale will continue through 2 p.m., or whenever they run out of meat.
Tickets for the barbecue are $10 for a plate, which includes your choice of meat and Brunswick stew along with sides of baked beans and potato chips with a slice of bread to sop up the drippings.
Bulk prices include $20 for a half rack of spare ribs, a pound of pork or beef for $10, a quart of Brunswick stew is also available for $10, $7 for half a chicken or a quart of baked beans or $5 for a sandwich combo.
Powell said a bonus this year is that for the first time the St. Mary’s Ladies Auxiliary is preparing coleslaw that will be sold in bulk, but not included in the plates or combos. “They handle all of the hospitality for the church whenever we have special functions or families in need.” Powell said the slaw will be their own fundraiser.
The Knights have conducted the fundraiser each Labor Day since 1967 and estimate more than a quarter of a million dollars has been passed on to a multitude of charities they support. Powell said sponsors have raised over $10,000 to underwrite expenses of the barbecue so that all of the proceeds from sales can be made available for the K of C charities. The Knights hope to clear about $20,000 for the event, according to Powell.
Tickets will be available at the door or from any Knights of Columbus member.