Juneteenth Grilling Cook-Off Form

Grilling Cook-off Rules

1. Teams will consist of no more than five (5) team members.
2. Fires must be wood, pellets, charcoal, or gas. No holies or open pits.
3. All cooks must check in at the City Park Wefald Pavilion, Manhattan, KS by 2:00 p.m. Friday, June 19 for the cooks’ meeting, instructions, and to ask any questions.
4. Teams will provide their own choice of meat, etc. (according to their registered category) for grilling.
5. You must have samples for 300 people. Give out sample size ONLY.  This is not an “all you can eat” event. We are expecting a Bigger turnout this year. The Juneteenth Planning Committee will provide the side dishes.
6. The crowd will purchase a taster kit and come around to sample your entry. Each taster kit will have a crowd-pleasing ticket for each of the categories.
7. Cooks can entice votes by booth decorating, music, dance, theme, etc.
8. All meats must be cooked on the premises.
9. Cooks are to prepare and cook food in as sanitary a manner as possible. Cooking conditions are subject to inspection by the Juneteenth Planning Committee. Failure to comply is subject to disqualification.
10. The crowd will judge entries by the number of crowd-pleasing tickets placed in the ticket jar.
11. You cannot run out of food before 6:30 p.m. Although we will be monitoring this, we ask for your cooperation. Come have an enjoyable time celebrating food, music, culture, and Juneteenth!
12. Crowd-pleasing judging tickets jars will be picked up from your booth at 6:45 p.m.
13. Prizes will be announced on the main stage before the Arts in the Park concert.

- GRILLERS GUIDELINES -

• Griller locations will be pre-assigned by the event committee, and you will be notified.
• If bringing a canopy, you must secure said canopy by weights of some kind, as the setup will be on pavement and drilling into the ground will not be possible. (Usually, water weights or sand weights.) It is also suggested vendors’ canopies have a vent at the top of some kind, as said, canopies usually do not catch as much wind. The event location could be windy, and it is the Grillers' responsibility to secure their equipment, merchandise, and any other items they bring with them to the event. Manhattan Juneteenth will not be held responsible for damage to you, your property, or anyone or anything else affected due to the failure of said Grillers to properly secure their site.
• It is required for Grillers to remain set up and in operation for the duration of the event and posted event times. If there is an emergency arrangement can be made.
• Trash will be bagged and transported to receptacles and dumpsters.
•  The grilling area will be cleaned and picked up of all debris and trash by 7:30 p.m. on Friday.
• Grillers understands it is unknown how many guests will attend; attendance will be dependent on the weather and number of grillers. Entry fee is non- refundable.
• Vendor Exhibits/Set-up should be family oriented. Set-up must be professional with appropriate signage. Vendor will not be permitted to use excessively loud music or amplified announcements during the event.
• Manhattan Juneteenth coordinators reserve the right to select or reject any Grillers for any reason.
• Grillers must unload and set up in the designated (assigned) area within the required time frame. - Load in time is between: 8:15 am and 2:30 pm - Must be set up and ready for attendees by 4:00 pm, the selling of taster kits will begin at 5:00 pm.  Grillers must remain on site until the winners of the cook-off have been announced. 
• Food is to be prepared and served according to commonly recommended food safety standards, which include proper hygiene, preventing cross-contamination, cooking food to safe internal temperatures, and maintaining proper food storage and serving temperatures. Cooking conditions are subject to inspection by the Juneteenth Planning Committee. Failure to comply is subject to disqualification

EXCLUSIVES: Manhattan Juneteenth has exclusive rights to sell event t-shirts and memorabilia. No Griller may use the event logo to create or sell any merchandise without permission. No Griller may sell beverages or food for attendees to consume during the event. 

By signing this agreement, I acknowledge our understanding of the guidelines of the event and agree to follow and abide by those guidelines stated above. The guidelines can be found on www.juneteenthmhk.org.