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 Included in that meeting were representatives from the Pigs and
Swigs Festival committee who shared information about the first
summer festival to be held in Lincoln this year.
Chris Graue discussed the “Pigs” side of the Festival which includes
the Up in Smoke Barbecue Competition, the Anything Goes, the
Backyard Barbecue competitions, and there's a new attraction this
year, the Kids Que.
Michelle Bauer spoke about the “Swigs” side of the festival that is
a Craft Beer event being sponsored by the Chamber’s Young
Professionals Network.
Andi Hake and Cara Barr of the Logan County Alliance also discussed
the Arts in the Park event that will be held in July.
Up in Smoke
Graue was the first to speak regarding the various barbecue
competitions.
The street closures in the downtown area will begin on Thursday
evening as that will be the designated time for food vendors to
arrive. Street closures will include Kickapoo Street from Broadway
to Clinton, Pulaski Street from one-half block west of Kickapoo to
North Hamilton, McLean Street from Clinton Street to Broadway, and
the 600 block of Broadway Street.
Compared to Balloon Festival weekend, streets that will not close
include Kickapoo between Broadway and Pekin and no portion of Pekin
will be closed and no portion of McLean north of Broadway will be
closed.
This year there will be a food court at the intersection of Pulaski
and Kickapoo. Graue said this was a new location for the food
because it will better accommodate the utility needs of the vendors.
He noted that last year there were some small issues with
electricity that should be avoided with this move.
Barbecue competitors are set to start arriving Friday morning. The
Backyard Barbecue competition will take place on Kickapoo Street
from Pulaski to Clinton Streets.
The Up in Smoke competitors will take up Pekin Street, North McLean,
and Broadway in the blocks immediately around the courthouse square.
In addition, space will be allowed on Pulaski from McLean to
Hamilton for the competitors.
The KidsQ, a new event this year will take place at Scully Park
along Clinton Street.
Graue said there would still be a Friday night dinner for contest
participants in the tent that will be located on Kickapoo between
Broadway and Pulaski.
The Anything Goes Competition, which will be held on Friday night,
will be set up this year in the Arcade located on Pulaski in the
center of the block. Graue said this move had been made to better
accommodate spectators who will come out. He said the location would
allow for more space for spectators.
Judging for Up in Smoke, Backyard, and Kids Que will take place at
the LifePointe Church once again this year.
Graue was asked about, and offered information on what the Kids Que
would involve. This event will have two age categories - ages seven
to eleven, and ages 12 to 15. Each kid may make the dish of their
choice using one pound of hamburger. He said it could be anything
they wished cooked on the grill, as long as it fit inside a 9 X
9-inch container. Each entrant will be given a grill to keep after
the competition. Contestants may bring any dressings and or
condiments they wish, and will be provided the hamburger and the
container for their submission to the judges.
Graue credited the wives of a number of the Up in Smoke committee
members for coming up with the idea of a kid’s competition, and
added that the event is also being supported by Woods and Bates
Attorney at Law in Lincoln.
Graue said this was a great addition to the weekend, and it would
round out the community draw to the event. He said the Up in Smoke
drew out of town competitors. The Backyard competition is specific
to local competitors, and now the Kids Que is going to pull in more
families. He noted that parents, grandparents and other family
members are going to be there to see their kid compete, and they
will want to be there if their kid wins.
BBQ Bucks will be given out to competitors once again this year. The
special coupons are being financed by Wood and Bates as well. Graue
reminded the business owners how they would work. There will be $800
in BBQ Bucks distributed to the various competitors. Those bucks can
be used to pay for 50 percent of a total purchase. Graue stressed
this would generate a total of at least $1,600 worth of shopping in
downtown businesses. He added that last year nearly all of the BBQ
bucks were used.
Graue closed saying that this year the projections are for 40
competitors in the Up in Smoke, 35 for the Backyard Barbecue, and 20
for the Kids Que.
Toby Prang and Mitch Douglas of the Lincoln Art Institute were
present for the meeting. They asked if organizers could do something
help keep the art institute visible to visitors. They said that last
year, a large mobile home was parked in front of the Institute, and
folks in the street were not able to see that the Institute was
open.
The institute is located on the McLean Street side of the downtown
square. Other businesses on that block are the Post Office and the
Logan County Farm Bureau Building, which houses several offices.
Douglas said that they would be fine with something smaller in front
of their door if it were something visitors could see around from
the street. Graue said that the committee would certainly do
whatever possible to address that concern.
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Craft Beer
Michelle Bauer spoke about the Craft Brew event that will be the “Swigs” portion
of the weekend. This part of the weekend is being put on by the Lincoln/Logan
Chamber of Commerce Young Professionals Network. The dollars profited from the
event will be utilized to lend the support of the YPN to the CEO program. She
said the YPN planned to invest in the CEO with a three-year commitment. The CEO
program is an education program that will offer area high school students
education and experience in entrepreneurial roles.
In expanding the annual Arts and Balloon Festival, the goal was to separate the
major components and the supplement them with new offerings. Bauer said that
beer goes well with barbecue, so this seemed to be an ideal event to marry with
the barbecue weekend. She added that craft beers are becoming more popular, and
she expected it would draw a new audience to the downtown area.
The Craft Beer portion of the weekend will be set up on Kickapoo Street between
Broadway and Pulaski. There will be a beer tent, but Bauer said the committee
was going back to a smaller tent as opposed to the very large one used last
year. She added that there will be plenty of open air seating and that the event
would have more of a beer garden atmosphere.
There will be beer tasting events held on Friday and Saturday evening, and a
beer brewing demonstration held on Sunday. General admission cost will cover
getting in the event and tickets for beer tasting. Additional beer tasting
tickets will be made available for sale as well.
There will also be a VIP ticket that would include a Saturday afternoon with
instruction on pairing. She said the one distillery that is coming to the
weekend would offer this program. The idea is to pair off the various beers with
a variety of sauces to find the best taste combinations. The VIP will be
Saturday between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.
Also on Saturday between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. will be a bags tournament. Bauer
said the Lincoln Knights of Columbus had agreed to help with that tournament.
She noted the K of C had become well experienced in holding successful
tournaments, and the YPN is happy to have them join in and help out.
At the moment, there are six micro-breweries signed up for the weekend and one
distillery. Bauer said there was a possibility of two more participants.
The Craft Beer event would also include live music. Bauer said there were two
bands booked for the event and one acoustic performer.
The final event will be held on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and would be open
to the public with no admission required. During this event, visitors will see
how home brews are made and will get a chance to learn some lessons on the
topic. Bauer said that there would also be a home brew competition for anyone
local who would like to enter.
Bauer said that the committee realized its event was going to cause some traffic
flow problems for local eateries. She said they were going to be talking to
Sorrento’s and Hallie’s about offering walking food items. She said perhaps
Sorrento’s could do a pizza by the slice, and they had thought Hallie’s could
offer Schnitzel strips in a cup with dipping sauce. These would be items that
visitors could purchase and eat on the move.
Car show and Taste of Logan County
On Sunday, the barbecue competition will be over, and competitors will have
moved out. The Railsplitter Antique Show would then move in. The car show will
occupy three sides of the square, Broadway, McLean, and Pulaski with overflow
going onto McLean between Pulaski and Clinton as well as Kickapoo between
Pulaski and Clinton.
The car show is expanding their offerings this year, according to Hake, who said
the show would include awarding $300 in cash and 25 trophies.
On Sunday, the Logan County Farm Bureau would sponsor its second annual Taste of
Logan County in front of the Farm Bureau Building. The event will include
information about farming in Logan County and free offerings of Logan County
food products.
Oasis Craft and Flea Market
The Oasis Craft and Flea Market will be held in Scully Park beginning on Friday
and running through Sunday. Dom Dalpoas said he was anticipating 40 vendors this
year. The setup at Scully will be very much the same as in the past, and the
Oasis will once again offer a food tent in the park.
Early in the meeting, the point had been made that the Lincoln Arts and Balloon
Festival had grown so large that it couldn’t grow anymore. The issues with the
gigantic festival included too few volunteers to oversee all the activities, and
there were safety concerns with so many people in town.
With the single festival expanding into four events, each one is naturally going
to be smaller. Bauer, Barr, Cox, and Hake all emphasized that this was a
positive move for many reasons. This year they expect all the festivals to be
smaller. There may also be fewer participants and smaller crowds. But, that is
part of looking at the long range plan realistically. With a small, low-gear
start, they have room to once again grow the events, adding new attractions each
year, and creating that great festival atmosphere on a smaller scale, four times
a summer instead of just once per year.
[Nila Smith] |
