HARLINGEN — The Inaugural Kibble ‘N Pits Cook-Off Sunday brought in funds for the Harlingen Humane Society and forever homes for two lucky animals.
The event, benefiting the humane society, featured food, games and live music for those in attendance.
According to event coordinator, Shane Sherrill, the cook-off was a lot of work, but fun.
“It was awesome,” Sherrill said. “We had a really, really good turnout for only having a month and a half to plan.
The main event, a BBQ cook-off hosted 17 teams where Lone Star National Bank took home the grand championship.
Among the vendors and volunteers, Sherrill said that his employer, Boggus Ford was a big help in providing support.
“A lot of people stepped up and helped us,” Sherrill said.
The Harlingen resident decided to organize the event after reading about the human society’s funding issues.
Monthly expenses for the humane society range from $30,000 to $40,000 with their annual budget being around $475,000.
The city of Harlingen provides about $131,505.
That number is set to increase to an estimated $160,000 in October.
For the remainder of the funds, the humane society relies on donations from the community and fundraising events such as Kibbles N’ Pits.
According to the Humane Society’s Board President, Pat Turnan-White, two animals that were bonded since birth and needed to stay together, were adopted during the event.
Sherrill said they are already thinking about next year and will start planning the second annual Kibble N’ Pits Cook- Off in the coming weeks.
“We were dealing with some challenges like church and the heat,” Sherrill said. “We are hoping to move next year’s date closer to August and get more involved.”
Sherrill said efforts will be to make next year’s event bigger and increase the community’s involvement.
