2nd Annual Sand Gnat BBQ Challenge

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

MEDIA CONTACT:

Angela Wigger, St. Marys Convention & Visitors Bureau

912.882.4000, angela.wigger@ci.st-marys.ga.us

 

 

BBQ COMPETITION IN HISTORIC ST. MARYS, GEORGIA

Chance to Earn Bragging Rights for the Best Area BBQ & Support Tourism Efforts

 

ST. MARYS, GA (September 20, 2011) – The 2^nd Annual Sand Gnat BBQ Challenge is set for 10:00a.m.-4:00p.m., Saturday, October 15, 2011 and will be located in the Tribune & Georgian parking lot in downtown St. Marys.

 

The program is sponsored by the St. Marys Convention & Visitors Bureau as a fundraising event to assist in the support of tourism efforts.  The day will include the judging of teams for the titles of “Pitmaster” and “People’s Choice” award and winners will receive various prizes for their efforts.  There will be entertainment options and shopping opportunities with several local arts & crafts vendors throughout the day.

 

For a $5 tasting fee, guests can sample BBQ from each team vying for bragging rights and place their vote for the people’s choice award winner.  This is a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon with your friends and family while visiting the St. Marys historic downtown area. 

 

CALLING FOR TEAM ENTRIES & VENDORS: BBQ Teams and Arts & Craft Vendors are being sought for the event. If you think you are king of the grill, this is the event for you to come out and earn your BBQ bragging rights. Teams can choose to be judged in any of four categories and a team of judges will declare the ultimate winner as, pitmaster. The registration fee is only $40 per cooking team or arts & crafts vendor. Advance registration is required and registration forms can be received by contacting the St. Marys Welcome Center.  Sponsorship opportunities are also available.

 

The schedule is as follows:

8:00 a.m.-10:00 a.m.                        Set up

10:00 a.m.- 4:00 p.m.                       Event Time

                              

For information or registration forms contact the St. Marys Convention & Visitors Bureau at 912.882.4000 or 111 Osborne Street.

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Cabaret Showcase, September 17th at Southern Junction

September 17, 2011 – RBM Productions presents: Cabaret Showcase at Southern Junction benefiting a new music/performing arts scholarship c/o RBM Productions and Camden Children's Alliance & Resources.  Cocktails at 8pm, Showcase at 9pm  (appetizers included with admission price). Tickets $12 advance, $15 at the door.  Tickets at Lil' Seabags and Jerry Lee's Music.  Ages 24 & up only please.  Call 912.674.5544 for more information.  Sponsored by Lil’ Seabags, L.J. Williams Photography, and Camden Printing.

 

 

ACA Instructor training course at Crooked River State Park

ACA Instructor Training -Up the Creek Xpeditions, in St. Marys, Georgia, is pleased to announce that we will be hosting an ACA Instructor training course at Crooked River State Park.  St. Marys is a lovely historic town in close proximity to the Jacksonville  Florida airport (40 min), Orlando is only 3 hours, Savannah is less than 4 hours.  Take a paddling vacation and get certified.

Rick Wiebush (Cross Currents Sea Kayaking) and Tom Nickles (Riverwind Kayak) will be conducting the course, which will take place from Wednesday Oct. 12 through Sunday Oct. 16, 2011. This is a great opportunity for those who have considered becoming an instructor or for those who just want to ramp up their skills. You will have top-notch trainers delivering the comprehensive and proven ACA instructor training curriculum. The St. Mary’s area is a dynamic paddling and learning environment since it offers multiple types of venues e.g., rivers, bays and open ocean. And the air and water temperatures are perfect in mid-October.

This course is intended for those wishing to become certified as ACA Level 1, 2 or 3 instructors. The course is either 3-days (for L1 and 2) or 5 days (for L3).

ACA Instructor Certification is a two-part process: the Instructor Development Workshop (IDW) and the Instructor Certification Exam (ICE). In the IDW portion of the course, the trainers: 1) help fine tune the candidates’ personal skills; and 2) explain and demonstrate effective methods for teaching those skills. The candidates are then given multiple opportunities over several days to practice their teaching skills. The final day is devoted to the formal evaluation of skills (ICE). Certification is based upon both paddling and teaching skills and is not guaranteed.

To give you some idea of what’s involved, the following link provides the instructor criteria for Level 3. The criteria for Levels 1 and 2 are also available at this website:

http://www.americancanoe.org/resource/resmgr/sei-courses/l3_ck_instcrit.pdf

The cost of the training is $115 per day. Register with a friend and both will receive a 15% discount.

For further information or to register, please contact Rick Wiebush at 410.788.1241 or email him at crosscurrentsseakayaking@gmail.com.   We hope you can join us for this exciting event and look forward to working with you.

I have personally taken classes with both Tom and Rick and feel very lucky to have this caliber of ACA Instructor sharing their time and wisdom with us.  Jennifer