Carrying on a 60-year tradition, the Cutchogue Fire Department held its annual chicken barbecue Saturday evening, raising funds to support the department and all its good work. READ
Tag: chicken barbecue
The tradition continues Saturday as Cutchogue Fire Department is set to host the 59th Annual Chicken Barbecue fundraiser at the firehouse grounds. READ
KATHARINE SCHROEDER PHOTO | Ev Glover, left, and Walter Krupski flip the chicken Saturday at the 57th annual Cutchogue Fire Department chicken barbecue.
Cutchogue Fire Department held its 57th annual chicken barbecue on Saturday afternoon, serving more than 3,500 dinners to hungry guests.
One of the most popular summer fundraisers on the North Fork, the event drew people from all over Long Island to the fire station to enjoy chicken, salad, corn and ice cream topped with fresh peaches.
Scores of volunteers managed everything from the cooking to the serving and the clean up.
It’s never happened before in the 55-year history of the Cutchogue Fire Department chicken barbecue, a Southold summer season staple, but with Hurricane Irene bearing down the department took down its bigtop tent and offered its specialty for take-out only.
With a light drizzle falling Saturday afternoon, the line snaked around the side of the firehouse, through a parking lot out to Main Road.
But no one was complaining.
“It’s not bad,” said Cy Lukeman of Orient. “I’ve been coming to this since the 1970s and this isn’t enough to stop that.”
It helped that department volunteers came by every now and again with a choice of beverages, this year in cans.
Determined to get the event in come hail or high water, the department moved the time up two hours, from the usual 4 to 8 p.m. to 2 to 6. That was to give volunteers time to get the huge tent down as soon as the last chicken bone hit the trash. But taking no chances, they took the tent down Friday night.
“We’ve done this before through thunder and lightening but never without sitdown service,” department member Tim Horton said as a steady stream of people came out of the firehouse with bags containing a half-chicken, potato salad, corn on the cob and ice cream with peaches. “Seems to be working, though.”
With a hurricane bearing down on Long Island, the Cutchogue Fire Department is starting its big chicken barbecue early on Saturday.
Dinner is usually served between 4 and 8 p.m., but this year the food will be available from 2 to 6 p.m.
The department is closing early to give volunteers time to take down the huge tent before the weather deteriorates.