Staff Report
Minden Press-Herald
The smell and sizzle of mouth-watering meats will soon fill the air in downtown Minden.
The Minden Main Street Board will be hosting the 4th annual Grilling On Main event, located, of course, on Main Street from June 7-8. This event will be a host to a variety of enjoyable activities, including a BBQ Cook-Off, a cornhole tournament, music, and a fireworks show.
“b1BANK is excited to serve as the Title Sponsor for Grilling on Main for the fourth consecutive year,” said Mike Burton b1BANK Minden market president. “This is a fun, family-friendly event that the entire community looks forward to every June. Downtown Minden will be hopping with food and craft vendors, BBQ grilling teams, activities for the kids and live music. At the b1BANK tent, you can register to win free Miranda Lambert concert tickets. Stop by and visit with us!”
There is still time to apply for being a Food/Craft Vendor as well as the BBQ Cook-Off and Cornhole Tournament. Though the deadline for these applications is June 7th, Thomas Adams, Chairman of the Minden Main Street Board, said “The earlier the better” in regards to turning in applications.
The BBQ Cook Off will have three categories, those being chicken-spare, rib, and brisket with the entry fee being $150. The competition will be giving out over $8000 in cash prizes to the top placing competitors, from 1st-8th place.
Those who aren’t competing in the competition can still participate by being a part of the People’s Choice Contest. The winner of this event will be decided by the public through a tasting cup program, with the winner receiving $500.
There will also a Cornhole Tournament starting at 6 p.m. on Friday. The title sponsor for this event is Gibsland Bank and Trust. The fee to enter the tournament is $50, and it will have up to a max of 50 teams. The rules of the American Cornhole Association will be applied, though it is not an officially sanctioned event. The teams who earn 1st-4th place will earn cash prizes, those being $500, $250, $100, and $50 respectively.
During Friday evening there will also be a fireworks show, which is sponsored by Horseshoe Dental.
Main Street will be closed from Monroe Street to Pine Street beginning the morning of Friday, June 7 until the evening of Saturday, June 8 for Grilling on Main. The alternate route will be Monroe Street to Pine Street. Pearl Street will also be closed from Main Street to Monroe Street.
If you are interested in any of the events taking place at Grilling on Main, you can find the applications at the Minden City Hall, located on 520 Broadway Street, or on our website at press-herald.com.
The schedule for the Grilling On Main begins with the roads closing at 5 a.m the day of. At 8 a.m. Contestant Registration opens up at Orleans on Main, and at 10 a.m. the Craft and Food Vendors will be open for Business. Later that afternoon at 4 p.m. the Beer Garden at Easley’s Courtyard on Pearl Street will be open. At 5 p.m. registration for the cornhole tournament will begin, and the tournament will begin at 6 p.m. There will be a cook’s meeting at Orleans on Main at 7 p.m., followed by a fireworks show at 9 p.m.
Saturday starting at 6 a.m. Broken Bean will start serving coffee and breakfast at 711 Main Street. At 10 a.m. Craft and Food Vendors will open for business, and an “Ultimate Kids Experience will start in Capital One’s parking lot. At 11 a.m. the Beer Garden will open back up and tasting tickets will go on sale for $5 a piece. At noon chicken entries must be turned in and the judging will last until 1:15 p.m. At 12:30 p.m. the band flight delay will start playing. At 1:30 p.m. Rib entries must be turned in and the judging will last from then until 2:45 p.m. At 3 p.m. brisket entries must be turned in and the judging will last until 4:15. To wrap things up, at 4:30 p.m. the winners of the various competitions will be announced.