Cedar Fest BBQ Cook-Off Presented by Smokey Mo’s Bar-B-Que Was a Hit!

I didn’t think it was possible to top last year’s Cedar Fest BBQ Cook-Off Sponsored By Smokey Mo’s Bar-B-Q, but not only did we top it, we blew it out of the water! It is amazing what can be accomplished when so many different organizations come together to create a great event.
                Thanks to the collaboration of the Cedar Park Chamber of Commerce, the City of Cedar Park and the Kansas City Barbeque Society, the combination of the Cedar Fest BBQ Cook-Off and the Annual Heritage Festival provided fun and competition for all age groups.
                On Saturday, April 5^th, thousands of locals, out-of-towners and people from outside the state of Texas, gathered to celebrate great barbeque and wholesome family activities. It was an honor to be part of an event that was not only fun and exciting, but profitable for the City of Cedar Park’s retail and hotel establishments.
                By bringing in cookers from not only out-of-town, but as far away as New Jersey, we were able promote our beautiful town of Cedar Park. These cookers stayed in our hotels, bought their groceries here and visited our local restaurants.  This helps boost our local economy and exposes Cedar Park to the rest of the nation.
                I wanted to take this opportunity to extend my gratitude to those who helped to make this event possible. First of all, thank you to the City of Cedar Park for teaming up with us on this event, especially the Parks and Recreation department for working with us to merge these two events successfully.
                Thank you to Joey Smith, owner of Cedar Park Wrecker and Joe’s Cook Shack. Without Joey as our event chairman, Cedar Fest simply would not exist. He is the heart and soul behind it and the force that has made Cedar Fest become what it is today. Also, thank you to all of the cookers for competing our event and making it an enjoyable experience.
                Thank you to the Kansas City Barbeque Society, for taking a chance on a small cook-off and letting us become a part of its nationwide competition. In case you have never heard of KCBS, they are the same group behind the hit television show, BBQ Pitmaster.
                Most of all, I want to say an emphatic THANK YOU to our sponsors. Most people do not realize that all of the cooker’s registration fees go back into the jackpot for the cookers to win. Therefore the only way we are able to pay to put on this event is through our generous sponsors.
                Thank you to our sponsors:  Presenting – Smokey Mo’s Bar-B-Q; Gold -  Cedar Park Pediatric Dentistry, Cedar Ridge Alzheimer's Special Care Center/The Isle at Cedar Park, Pohl Partners Real Estate, Resort Lifestyle Communities/Provident Crossings/Lakeline Oaks, State Farm Insurance - David Schara's Office; Silver –A+ Federal Credit Union, Air Velocity, Dr. Dennis McCarty with Cedar Park Eye Care, ChiroFit Wellness Center, First Texas Bank, Modern Woodmen of America, Primrose Schools of Cedar Park, Randolph Brooks Federal Credit Union, Texas Stars Hockey/Cedar Park Center, Title Boxing Club, The Joint...The Chiropractic Place / Elements Therapeutic Massage Lakeline; Trophy Sponsors: Cedar Park Body & Frame, Cedar Park Jewelry, Texas Spice Company, State Farm Insurance - David Schara's Office; Bronze Sponsor- X-Treme Tan and Koozi Sponsor - MileStone Community Builders.
                We are already planning next year’s event and can’t wait until next spring to once again see whose barbeque reigns supreme! Will Trash Can Cookers win it all again or will a new team take its place? We will have to wait and find out next year. Either way, it will be a lot of fun with a lot of great barbeque to sample.

Lyndee Matthews, Program Director