Biggest Buffalo and Elk Cookout in the Midwest
July 12-13 sponsored by Rock Falls Chamber

It’s the biggest buffalo and elk cookout in the Midwest and it will take place on Saturday and Sunday, July 12-13 along First Avenue in Rock Falls at the Country Market Grocery Store.
Along with buffalo and elk, the Rock Falls Chamber will also be serving pork chop sandwiches and alligator, a big hit at last year’s event. A “sweet” addition to the 2008 event will be Selmi’s sweet corn that will be soaked in water and then roasted on a grill from Jim Prescott’s Bar-B-Q Shop. It will be one of the first times this season that sweet corn will be ready to go from Selmi’s.
“We did some checking and found out that no one in the Midwest does a buffalo and elk cookout so why not call it the ‘biggest buffalo and elk cookout in the Midwest,’” said Chamber President/CEO Doug Wiersema. “This year we promise we will have an abundance of the meat and alligator. We just added the alligator last year and I think we sold out in like 30 minutes. This year we won’t run out!”
The sandwiches are sold along with chips and lemonade. Sweet corn will be sold separately.
A new event the committee is working on is the first time addition of an antique tractor show. About 20 members of a loose-knit group of owners have been contacted and awaiting a response. The committee expects around 30 tractors. A parking lot location has been secured just south of Wagner Accounting along First Avenue. Signs will be posted to inform visitors.
Up to 50 vendors are also expected for the cookout on Saturday. Chamber members are invited to contact the Chamber office at 1.815.625.4500 to register. There is no charge to set up a table, chairs, tents, etc., and participate, but you must contact the Chamber in order to secure a location. The two-day event is an excellent way to get your business recognized and talk to visitors about your business. The Chamber encourages participants to have an inter-active display for visitors and Chamber staff will help with ideas.
“In the past we have called the event ‘Food & Fuel’ and we’ll stick with that for this year,” Wiersema said. “But we are likely to move away from that as time passes and things change and we move in other directions.”
The committee is also seeking bands that would like to play during the event. A couple of bands have been contacted. “We’re just looking for some folks who would like to join us and maybe do a little jamming.”
The Chamber has also contacted various local car clubs and have invited them to come to the cookout. There is no judging, just a show-off your car, truck or motorcycle.
For more information about the Third Annual Summer Cookout, contact the Rock Falls Chamber at 1.815.625.4500 or the Chamber’s website at www.rockfallschamber.com.