Fire it Up BBQ in Frostproof April 12-13

The City of Frostproof will host a two-day barbeque celebration April 12-13, bringing people together for food, music and activities for kids.

Fire it Up! Will include a barbeque contest sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) and a steak contest and Kids Que sanctioned by the Steak Cookoff Association. According to the KCBS, barbecue is a uniquely American tradition.

The Frostproof event at Henderson Field, 71 N. Lake Reedy Blvd. starts at 4 p.m. Friday with Cory Greenway and the Outa Hand Band set to perform from 6-9 p.m. Performers Saturday include Beautiful Bobby Blackman & The3Band from 2-5 p.m. and Luvu from 6-9 p.m. The community event from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday includes a Car Show and Vendors Row. The Kidz Zone will feature The Big Kahuna Water Slide, obstacle course, bounce houses, ponies and more; cost is $2 per child for all day access.

The steak cookoff is set for Friday night and barbeque contest Saturday. Fire it Up is one of 500 barbeque contests sanctioned worldwide by KCBS, a nonprofit organization with over 20,000 members dedicated to promoting and enjoying grilling and barbeques. The group helps local civic and charitable groups organize and promote sanctioned events. The Steak Cookoff Association is dedicated to building the sport of steak cook-offs and now sanctions more than 100 events per year. The SCA contest now has a purse of $2,400 with the grand champion to win $1,000.

These events have become big business with professional barbeque teams vying for a $10,000 purse and backyard teams competing for $1,500 in prize money.