Glen Ellyn Backyard BBQ provides tasty finish to summer
In Glen Ellyn, summer isn't over until after Labor Day.
That's the mantra of organizers of the Glen Ellyn Backyard BBQ, which returns for its 10th year on Saturday, Sept. 8, as the largest amateur BBQ contest in the state.
Roughly 60 teams will compete to claim prizes for Best Ribs, Best Chicken, Best Dish and Best Sauce.
Visitors can buy BBQ from vendors, vote for their favorite BBQ sauce in the competition area, and get tips from home-chef pros.
Vendors, including Steamboat BBQ, Skuddlebutts, Cape May Crab Cakes and Taco Factory, will offer BBQ, burgers, hot dogs, crabcakes, ice cream, beer and more.
There will be activities for the entire family, including Piglet Playland with host Mary Macaroni, along with T-shirt painting, bounce houses and treats for the kids.
The celebration also will include a dunk tank and music from bands that include Good Things, Summer Son, Run Forrest Run, EP8, Fiona Grey and Ralph Covert & The Bad Examples.
"The GEBYBBQ has become a favorite festival of Glen Ellyn and the surrounding communities," said Amy Van Polen, resource development director at Bridge Communities and a member of the BBQ committee.
"It attracts thousands of BBQ enthusiasts from the Chicagoland area for an all-day festival."
The best part of the fest, she said, is that all proceeds go to Bridge Communities, a grass-roots, nonprofit organization committed to ending homelessness for families and their children.
The group seeks to ensure that all families have safe, sustainable and affordable housing and lifelong self-sufficiency. In the past 30 years, Bridge Communities has helped more than 800 families cross the bridge from homelessness to hope and self-sufficiency.
Organizers are looking for more than 200 volunteers to assist with the event, with shifts from 6 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.
The fest itself is open from noon to 10 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 8, in the Glenwood Avenue parking lot on Crescent Boulevard, between Main and Prospect, in downtown.
For information or to volunteer, visit www.glenellynbackyardbbq.org or email info@glenellynbackyardbbq.org.
For more on Bridge Communities, visit www.bridgecommunities.org.