Returning to Normalcy for BBQ Fundraisers

The plate of barbecue comes with beans, cole slaw, and more.

What a difference a year makes, particularly when the coronavirus pandemic is involved. The pandemic required some barbecue fundraisers to suspend events and others to modify theirs. Now most have returned to their regular schedules, such as the annual harvest festival held by Culdee Presbyterian Church. 

A dedicated kitchen crew keeps the serving line moving.

Annual Fall Festival of Culdee Presbyterian Church 

In the Eastwood community of Moore County, NC, the church has cooked barbecue every November on the first weekend as a fundraiser for its projects and ministries as part of a harvest festival. The festival begins early at 10 a.m. when a “country store” opens and continues until the last ticket is bought for a raffle that starts at 6:30 p.m. Other activities occur throughout the day, but for me the priority is to arrive in time for supper before the barbecue sells out. A plate with pulled pork, slaw, baked beans, and a roll sells for $10. It also includes a homemade dessert and a beverage. 

The dessert table is loaded with homemade sweets.

Schedule for Preparing Barbecue 

The 2022 event was the 35th festival that the church had held. With that much experience, the church has perfected its schedule. Boston butts are taken to the church on the Saturday before the festival and are kept refrigerated until the next Wednesday when they are prepared by washing, rubbing with spices, and wrapping for cooking. At 4 o’clock on the next morning, a volunteer team begins cooking. On the next day (Friday), the butts are unwrapped, and the meat is pulled from the bones. And then all we have to do is wait for Saturday, the day of the fall festival. 

After barbecue has been cooked for many harvest festivals, the schedule has been perfected.

Selling Barbecue Also on January 1 

The folks at Culdee really know how to celebrate with food. On January 1 this year, the church celebrated the start of the new year with a Southern meal of pork barbecue, collards, black-eyed peas, and cornbread. Because the pandemic was still a concern, all meals were to-go. The barbecue then was as good as it was today. Maybe the Boston butts were prepared by the same volunteers on the same schedule. 

Several activities of the fall festival are held outdoors.

Celebrating the fall is a hallmark tradition for many communities, especially if they are more rural than urban. Because they include pork barbecue in their celebration, the festival is very enjoyable.