DECATUR-After a one-year break due to Covid-19 in 2020 and sluggish ticket sales in 2021, the annual Riverfest festival underwent a transformation and is returning in 2022 as Sizzle and Smoke, a two-day event promising exciting grilling action and good times along the Tennessee River. The inaugural festival is set for Sept. 23-24, 2022, at Ingalls Harbor in Decatur, Ala.
Mosaic Mentoring of North Alabama and the Morgan County Sheriff’s Posse have collaborated to offer Alabama’s first
triple steak cookoff, a Steak Cookoff Association (SCA)-sanctioned event. Anyone can take their skills to the grill and enter the competition as long as they are members of the SCA. Local businesses, organizations and weekend grillers are encouraged to register to compete. Membership to SCA is $40.00 to join and allows members to cook in as many steak events taking place anywhere in the United States.
Competitors can turn in three steaks for judging. One on Friday night, Sept. 23 and two on Saturday, Sept. 24. Mosaic Mentoring and the Sheriff’s Posse will provide ribeye steaks for the competition to ensure a level playing field. The competition steaks are included in the registration fee.
The winning steak will earn that competitor a payout of $1000. The second place steak receives $500, the third place is $300, the fourth place will receive $200, fifth place is $150 and sixth through tenth place receive $100 each and the winners of all three steak turn-ins will automatically receive a golden ticket to the World Food Championships Finals in Dallas.
The event gets underway with a single competition on Friday night, Sept. 23 and will end with a double competition on Saturday, Sept. 24. Sign up is available at here for Friday and for Saturday, click here.
The competition also offers an Anything Goes Appetizer ancillary and a Jack Daniel’s cocktail ancillary with both paying to fifth place.
Kids ages four to 13 years old will also be able to participate to see who has the best cheeseburger and compete for a payout of up to $100 for first place, $75 for second place, $50 for third place and $25 each for fourth through tenth place. Registration is available by clicking here.
Schedule of events:
Friday
4:30 p.m. Cooks meeting
6:00 p.m. Judges meeting
7:00-7:30 p.m. Steak turn-in
8:30 p.m. Awards
Saturday
10:00 a.m. Cooks Meeting
11:00 a.m. Judges meeting
12:00-12:15 p.m. Kids turn in
1:00-1:15 p.m. Appetizer turn-in
2:00–2:15 p.m. Cocktail turn-in
3:30–4:00 p.m. Steak A turn-in
5:00-5:30 p.m. Steak B turn-in
6:30 p.m. Awards
There will also be food trucks and a steak sandwich sale (to benefit both Mosaic Mentoring and the Sheriff’s Posse) on Saturday for the public along with raffle prizes and a silent auction.
For more information, visit https://www.mosaicnorthal.org/
Media Release/Danielle Gibson, President & CEO
Decatur Morgan County Tourism, Inc.
