Look Whose Talking About the 2010 South Carolina Campground Cookoff!

Television Publicity

WSPA-TV My Carolina Show
The following segments, featuring the 2010 South Carolina Campground Cookoff, have been aired on the WSPA-TV My Carolina Show.

April 21, 2010 | SC Campground Cookoff contestant, John Neil cooks up a batch of wings with his popular "In-Laws" barbeque sauce.

May 19, 2010 | Featuring Barbara Ware, Executive Director of the Old 96 District Tourism.

June 23, 2010 | Featuring Lucy Shuler, owner of Simply Kitchen out of Augusta, Georgia, is one of the judges for the 2010 event.

July 21, 2010 | Featuring Gaines Huguley from Shafer & Huguley Marketing Communications who is the marketing firm for Old 96 District Tourism and markets the South Carolina Campground Cookoff.

Print Publicity

July 21, 2010
South Carolina Camping Attracts a Foodie Crowd
Campers Converge for 3rd Annual SC Campground Cook-off Sept. 17-18, 2010
Submitted by freelance and contributing writer for the Old 96 District, Beth D’Addono

CALHOUN FALLS, S.C. When Angie and John Smarr leave their York, South Carolina home for a weekend of camping, they don’t leave their good taste behind.  Avid campers and good cooks, Angie and John won Honorable Mention in the Main Dish category at last year’s South Carolina Campground Cookoff. They take their gourmet spirit on the road, creating delicious recipes prepared over an open campfire. Last year’s winning entry, “Matt’s Favorite Ribs with Red Potatoes” earned the praise of Southern Living travel writer Annette Thompson. Thompson commented, “Great flavor, tender and tasty rub.”   The Smarrs are among many cook teams of dedicated foodies ready to dazzle the judges converging on Calhoun Falls State Park Sept. 17-18, 2010 for the 3rd Annual South Carolina Campground Cookoff.  “We always enjoy cooking when we camp, but doing it as a competition was exhilarating and with the time constraints it was very challenging,” said Angie Smarr.

Sponsored by the Old 96 District Tourism Commission, which markets tourism promotion in the South Carolina counties of Abbeville, Edgefield, Greenwood, Laurens and McCormick, and the Parks Division of the S.C. Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism, the South Carolina Campground Cookoff brings two very important trends to the table.  Despite the down economy, or maybe because of it, the popularity of outdoor camping as a family activity is growing, according to the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association. The group estimated that in 2009 there were 34.3 million campers in the country, an increase of 9.4 percent since 2007.  Add in the growing appreciation for eating well, a trend fueled in part by the popular Food Network and its new hipster Cooking Channel, and it’s no wonder that South Carolinians are cooking up a storm in the great outdoors.

“We can’t get over how popular this contest is,” said Barbara Ware, Executive Director, of the Old 96 District Tourism Commission. “It amazes me what recipes these folks come up with each year. There is a magical element when one eats under the stars.”

This year, the teams vie for $2,000 in cash prize money, awarded to 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners in two categories - Main Dishes and Desserts. Each creation must be prepared from scratch and cooked over a campfire of charcoal or wood.  “We are looking forward to this year’s cook off and hope we can possibly win again. Even if we do not win,  we know we will at least meet great people that have the same love of outdoor cooking as we do and have the opportunity to swap ideas with our fellow outdoor chefs!”, says Smarr.

There will be live music on Friday night, a silent auction and a parade for the kids and adults on Saturday.  Applications are available online at www.sccampgroundcookoff.com or by calling 866-354-0003 and must be received by September 1, 2010.

July 31, 2010
Amateur Cooks Compete for Cash Prizes at the South Carolina Campground Cookoff to be held at Calhoun Falls State Recreation Area

The Old 96 District Tourism Commission will host the third annual South Carolina Campground Cookoff on September 17-19, 2010 at Calhoun Falls State Recreation Area on Lake Richard B. Russell in Calhoun Falls, South Carolina. This event is a partnership between the Old 96 District Tourism Commission and the Parks Division of the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism. WSPA-TV and Your Carolina, a TV show hosted by Kimberly Kelly and Jack Roper, are the presenting sponsors of the event. Amateur cooks who love to cook over an open fire are encouraged to register and compete for $2,000 in prize money and become "King of the Campground Cooks!" Participants must be 18 years of age, submit a $45 entry fee and stay two nights at Calhoun Falls State Recreation Area. Contestants may enter one of two categories: main dish or dessert. Food must be prepared from scratch and cooked over a fire of either wood or charcoal. No gas grills are allowed. $2,000 in cash prizes will be awarded with 1st ($500), 2nd ($300) and 3rd: ($200) place prizes awarded in each of the two categories. Applications must be received by September 1, 2010. The third annual amateur cooking competition will welcome three celebrity judges -- Beth D¹Addono, Judy Wells and Lucy Shuler.

New this year to the South Carolina Campground Cookoff is the Camp Market! The Camp Market provides an opportunitity to manufacturers of outdoor cooking and grilling equipment, camp kitchen gadgets, foods, spices and sauces to demo their products and offer samples to cooking and camping enthusiasts. The cost to exhibit at the Camp Market is $25. Click to register as a Camp Market vendor!

August 4, 2010
Campsite dining can be four-star | Cook-off brings out campers’ creativity
By Lillia Callum-Penso, Greenville News staff writer

S’mores, you’ve been replaced. OK, not entirely, but there are just so many other possibilities when it comes to campsite dining.

Take the rack of lamb Angie Smarr made last year. Or the peach pie that has become her husband’s specialty. All you need is a good cast iron pot, an open flame and sense of creativity.

“We do have freezers in our campers, so I guess if we wanted to get lazy we could just buy,” Smarr says of going the easy route. “It’s just not as good.”

That philosophy carried Smarr and her husband, John, to an honorable mention at the South Carolina Campground Cookoff last year.

Now, rest assured, the old camping staples remain: GORP (Good Ol’ Raisins and Peanuts), along with ramen noodles and instant oatmeal. But thanks to cooking shows and celebrity chefs, interest in food is expanding, and the trend has led to some inspired campsite cooking, says Barbara Ware, executive director of the Old 96 Tourism District Commission, which sponsors the Campground Cookoff. [Click to read the entire article with recipes.]