Traffic was busy in Veregin as the 75th annual Shishliki barbecue was hosted by the Veregin recreation board on June 29.
The fires were lit at approximately 8 a.m. in order to be ready for a noon start, according to Dereck Wolkowski, one of the volunteers in charge of the barbecue. Wolkowski said they planned to cook and serve approximately 1,250 pounds of meat. At final count, over 1,000 tickets were purchased for the meal.
Wolkowski said he has volunteered at the barbecue for a number of years, and thoroughly enjoys the experience.
“It’s all about community support,” he explained. “It’s a great event to connect with people. Many like to return for this event after moving away. The shishliki barbecue promotes heritage and tradition, which are really important to people.”
Members of the Veregin Rec Board involved in organizing the event included: Jason Chernoff, president; Aaron Chernoff, vice-president; Jeff Bloudoff, secretary/treasurer and Ruby Dubasov, board member.
Dubasov said there is strong community support for the event, adding “I can’t begin to count the number of volunteers who helped out.”
Warner Kabatoff, originally from Veregin and a former member of the Border Mountain Blue Grass group, provided musical entertainment.
The River Archery Club (RVAC) was set up inside the Veregin Rink with a fundraiser which included games for the younger folks and T-shirt sales.
Veregin New Horizons sold various flavours of pies and tarts.
The National Doukhobor Heritage Museum display featured homemade bread produced in a brick oven.
Louie Zawislak of Mikado brought his barrel train and provided rides for the kids.
Funds raised by the barbecue go toward keeping the Veregin rink in operation.
