Chicken is prepared at a past Smoke On the Square fundraiser in Hope.
HOPE — Jeff Yarnell is willing to risk it for brisket.
Willing to risk perhaps a backache by sleeping on the Hope Historic Town Square Friday evening to man his searing smoker that always plays a central role in prepping specialties ranging from the aforementioned beef cut to ribs for the 11th Annual Smoke on the Square Friday and Saturday.
The founder of the barbecue event that has raised $5,000 to $7,000 annually, pre-pandemic, for the Community Center of Hope had eight teams lined up a couple days ago for the friendly competition that marks the event. Because of COVID-19, last year’s event was limited to a drive-through and the 2020 event was canceled.
“We’re really hoping to get people back,” said Yarnell, president of the community center board. “But because this is the first year being fully back, I don’t think we’re going to quite reach for the stars.
“In fact, we may have a little less food to sell than normal, so we’re encouraging people not to wait until Saturday night to buy food, because we may already be sold out (before then). We’re really hoping that people come by 3 or 4 p.m. on Saturday versus maybe 6 or 7 p.m.”
In years past, 700 to more than 1,000 people have attended for food, live music, children’s activities and more.
Yarnell mentioned that it is sometimes a challenge to get enough teams for a specific date for the cook-off because so many have busy schedules. About a dozen teams have called to say that they’d ideally like to be there but cannot make it.
“In the past, some of them would even try to show up for a few hours just to buy a meal off us,” Yarnell said.
He added that he still is accepting in-kind event sponsors and competitive smoker teams until Friday. Plus, for those who cannot attend the event, donations to the Community Center of Hope can made at communitycenterofhope.org
He said volunteers still are needed in various capacities both Friday and Saturday.
