Chamber discusses combined Barbecue and Bulldog Days
Posted on Wednesday, October 8, 2008
DECATUR ó Chamber of Commerce members discussed the possibility of holding the Decatur Barbecue and Bulldog Days back-to-back next August at Mondayís meeting.
Chamber members David Cook and Kim Beggs, who also worked to organize Bulldog Days, presented the idea to have the Barbecue on the first Friday of August followed by Bulldogs Days on Saturday. The chamber also discussed ideas to improve the festivals and make them more self-sufficient at the meeting.
The Decatur Barbecue started as a Petersons Farms get-together in the 1950 s, but the company sold many of its assets to Simmons Foods in July. Simmons Foods has promised to donate $ 4, 000 to $ 5, 000 to the event next year, but they will not be providing labor to cook the chicken or shutting down the processing plant for the event as Petersons Farms has done in the past.
Attendance at this yearís Bulldog Days was affected by the threat of rain, but the festival also had to compete with five other local festivals, high school football games and a Razorback football game, Beggs said. Moving the festival to August would eliminate much of the competition, she pointed out.
Adam McGee said the chamber needs to start getting commitments for donations right now and then figure out the fixed expenses before deciding how much chicken to cook or how much to spend on entertainment at the Barbecue.
He also suggested cooking the chicken during the day so people could smell it cooking and see it on the grill, and he suggested cooking other items like hamburgers.
ì It may have more appeal, î he said.
Will Lane suggested selling candy, pop and hot dogs, especially for those who come only for the concert in the evening. By the time the concert starts at 9 p. m., people have probably already had supper but may want a snack, he pointed out.
Fees for vendor space could go to the chamber of commerce on Friday and the parks and recreation department on Saturday. The Bulldog Days festival was able to fill all its vendor spaces this year.
ì Our vendors want more people and we know the Barbecue would bring in people, î Beggs said, adding that the hot air balloons are also a big draw.
Cook told the chamber that J and M Displays, the company that set-off fireworks at Bulldog Days last weekend, have offered him a three-year contract for the fireworks show. The parks department will be locked into the $ 2, 500 price for the show and the company would supply 10 percent more fireworks for that price each year. The company also offered to come and train the fire department to set off the fireworks for no additional charge.
The chamber will be meeting again on the evening of Nov. 3 to discuss the new ideas with the parks and recreation committee.
In other business, officers were appointed for the year. Royce Johnson will continue to serve as chamber president, Norma Jean Wilmoth will serve as vice-president and Kim Beggs will serve as recorder.
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