By KIM SMITH DEDAM
Staff Writer
July 02, 2008 04:00 am
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LAKE PLACID -- The village's Independence Day celebration coincides with a barbecue extravaganza this year as grill chefs circle the oval under fireworks.
Lake Placid's annual I Love Barbeque Festival welcomes nearly 40 professional teams this weekend, more than twice the number who came to the first event three years ago.
Slow-cooking experts from as far off as Texas and Kansas City will compete for more than $7,500 in prize money, beginning Friday with the Midnight Grilling Bash.
They come towing smokers -- unique barrel-shaped grills, often home crafted -- designed to instill savory spice and mouth-watering woody hints to tender cuts of pork, beef, brisket and chicken.
The family-centered event, complete with game tents and Christmas characters celebrating July, is a fundraiser for Thomas Shipman Youth Center in Lake Placid.
The festival raises more than $20,000 annually for youth programs.
TOP CHEF CONTEST
Dmitry Feld, Shipman's president, built I Love Barbeque to a signature good time.
"We added many new elements this year," he said, listing several noted festival additions.
"We have a Milano North Top Chef competition where the best local chefs and barbecue teams compete for a title of top chef."
While slow cooking continues through the day, top-chef demonstrations every hour draw hungry and curious festival-goers to be judges.
Rules are simple, Feld said; the edible entries must include meat, fruit and vegetable.
"Then they can use their own imaginations. Their cooking is open to the public for free, and the people score and choose the winner."
From noon to 3 p.m. Saturday, the popular Buck-a-Rib opens competition barbecue pits to public taste-tests of rub and sauce flavors.
Last year's event sold out in rib-crazed enthusiasm.
LAKE PLACID IDOL
And once bone buckets are cleared away, a new music competition enters the village.
"This year, we created State Farm Lake Placid Idol," Feld said with a grin. "It caused a lot of interest. We selected eight finalists to compete on Saturday between 3 and 7 p.m."
Judges and the public will choose the top three singers to perform at a final competition Sept. 5 at Lake Placid Center for the Arts, with a prize of $1,000 and the title of Lake Placid Idol.
MORE MUSIC
Several nationally renowned musicians are slated to perform throughout the three-day festival.
On Friday, Debbie Davies will arrive in Lake Placid hot off the Monterey Bay Blues Festival, with opening act Appalachian Still.
And music continues through the weekend.
"The makeup of the local bands is amazing," Feld said.
Special treats are in store for small children, with a little Christmas cheer courtesy of Santa's Workshop, as Rudolph the Reindeer makes a personal appearance Saturday.
When the smoke clears, the benefits continue all year long.
"Our most important goal is to raise money for the Shipman Youth Center and to bring a great summer event to Lake Placid," Feld said.
"But we also wanted to add a Lake Placid version of national and international barbecue competition."
The event is one of 3,000 worldwide sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbeque Society, which trains judges and tracks points through the grilling season.
A non-profit organization, Kansas City Barbeque Society is dedicated to promoting and enjoying barbecue, with more than 8,000 members worldwide.
Lake Placid's event is built largely of volunteer community support.
"I want to thank all our volunteers and sponsors," Feld said.
"Without their support, this event would not be possible."
FOURTH CELEBRATION
The Lake Placid Fourth of July Celebration will be held Friday, with a parade at 5 p.m., followed by a free Lake Placid Sinfonietta concert of patriotic music at Mid's Park.
Fireworks over Mirror Lake, which will be set to music, will start about 9:45 p.m., with a good view from Mirror Lake Beach.
kdedam@pressrepublican.com
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