Downtown Stuart will soon be wafting with the smells of chicken, pork, and beef as the Stuart Revitalization Group fires up their inaugural Best of the Block BBQ Cook-Off tomorrow.

Around 10 registered teams will start checking in at 5 p.m. tomorrow on Northeast 2nd Street near Division Street, but there will already be finger-licking food for the public with a free-will donation chicken wing fest at 7 p.m., followed by a free DJ street dance and costume contest from 8-11 p.m.

Saturday morning there will be kids games and face painting at the Stuart Public Library, as well as building tours, and a bags tournament and other activities downtown that afternoon. Awards will be given out at 5:30 p.m., followed by a community dinner, where the public can devour the competitors’ meats. The day will end with a live band and street dance.

Organizer Russ Wagner explains why he wanted to host a cook-off, “The barbecue itself is something that not many (cities host), unless you go to Des Moines or you go out of town at least about an hour to get to a barbecue contest. So it’s not something we’ve ever done here. We thought that it would go over big with all of the surrounding communities and we just thought it was a good idea, so we’ll hope everybody attends.”

The proceeds of the cook-off will go towards the Stuart Cottage Pantry and the Stuart Fire and Rescue agencies. For the full schedule of activities, visit this story at raccoonvalleyradio.com.