Sara Bloom
By JAMES BELL
Hays Post
Great food and stiff competition was abundant in Frontier Park last weekend in Hays as the Downtown Hays Development Corp. re-envisioned an annual event — giving it a new atmosphere, date and name.
“It was the first time that we had had this event referred to as Fire on the Frontier BBQ Classic. It was actually Blues BBQ & Bargains for the last six years,” said Sara Bloom, DHDC executive director. “We were asked by the fair committee to change our dates, so we did. We moved it from July to June and, with the date change we thought, ‘You know what. We’re going to change the name too, and give it a whole new feel.’”
With the change in the time and name, Bloom said there was nervousness about the turnout, but participants proved to be more than willing to accept the change, creating good turnout for competitors and visitors.
“We wanted to make sure that our teams that had been here in previous years knew that we had moved, knew that we had changed,” Bloom said.
Overall 36 teams registered for the event, with all but one entering into the BBQ competition.
“We changed a lot this year,” Bloom said. “We didn’t have a car show, didn’t have a kids que. We changed the name, we changed the date, but the teams stuck with us.”
The event brought in various entertainment for all ages, including a bounce house, live pigs from Fort Hays State University and live music during the evening, and Bloom estimated the event drew about 1,500 participants Friday night.
“It just turned out to be a really great overall event,” Bloom said.
JP Custom Smoke, a past winner, took home top honors in the barbecue competition.
“He took the whole thing. He took a couple of our categories as well as the grand champion,” Bloom said.
Saturday morning in Hays also featured Great Planes on the Great Plains, an annual fly-in at the Hays Regional Airport. That event brought area air enthusiasts to the airport along with fans of classic cars at the nearby car show.
Once the planes landed, there was still plenty to do at the show, including model airplane demonstrations, helicopter rides, paper airplane competitions in the terminal and, of course, close-up looks at various types of aircraft on the airport tarmac.
A helicopter also was swooping overhead throughout the morning, offering rides to thrill seekers.
While the fly-in is an annual event, the DHDC has offerings through the summer and fall. The above video highlights those events and more information can be found at the DHDC website.