It was a show of saucy ribs and souped up cars at Cantiague Park this past Sunday for the fourth annual Hicksville Fire Department barbecue and car show. More than 1,000 attendees gathered on Sept. 21, fighting the rain and clouds to check out about 100 vintage and modern cars and to sample fare from the 18 teams who came out to duke it out in the barbecue competition. Event chairman Greg Doerflein explained that the idea started about five years ago and takes a full year to plan. “This is the fourth year and every year it gets bigger and bigger. We start on next year’s event the day after,” he said.
The barbecue and car show is a labor of love and a full company effort, said Brian Quinn, co-chairman of the event. The committee works with car clubs to secure placements and travels the island to gain participants in the barbecue competition portion. “Some of the participants even slept here last night, that’s how dedicated they are to this event,” said Quinn. “However, this wouldn’t be possible without a full company effort.”
Doerflein said that every year the department picks a cause that is near and dear to their hearts to donate a portion of the proceeds to. A portion of the net proceeds of the 2014 event will be donated to the American Heart Association in the name of Brian McKee — a former member of the department and a New York City Police Officer who is the 2014 Red Cap Ambassador for the American Heart Association.
“We always wanted to be a big event so that we could pick a foundation we can make money for,” said Quinn.
The event concluded with an award ceremony for both the barbecue competition and the car show. Ted Lelle brought home top honors for his 1953 Chevrolet 210 while the Babylon Grill Billies were the overall barbecue competition winners.
“My favorite part about this event is that I get to talk to the people,” said Lelle. “My car took me six years and more than 3,000 hours to build, but I like being able to talk to the people about it and to talk to the people that are building their own cars. Sometimes I can help people out and that’s a great feeling.”
As for the event itself, it will definitely be back for round five and will be bigger and better. “This is great to see. We just took an idea and brought it to life and it makes all of us really proud,” Doerflein said.
