Staff and volunteers have been prepping for a few months for United Way of Bradford Area’s main special event, the 20th annual Pig Roast/Clam Bake, which will begin at 5 p.m., on Sept. 6 at the Bradford Township Lions Club.
The event serves as the celebratory kick-off for the United Way’s annual campaign, and is being presented again by Northwest Bank.
“This is the 20th anniversary of our event, and we’re so appreciative of all of the hands that have been part in making it so successful year after year,” said board vice president Karen Costello-Pecht. “Everyone from our volunteers to our sponsors to our vendors to the guests, we cannot thank you all enough for keeping this around for two decades.”
The menu will offer a wide variety of food, including, but not limited to not only the pig roast and clam bar buffet including raw, casino and steamed clams, but also a general buffet featuring sausage sandwiches, corn roast, salt potatoes, baked beans, spinach salad, caprese salad, coleslaw, desserts and beverages, according to Mandi Wilton Davis, executive director of the Bradford United Way.
Live music will be provided during the event by Jim Copeland, Tyler Calkins and Mick Marshall. There will also be a cash bar, 50/50 and raffle tickets for sale, as well as the new prospective feature of a cornhole tournament. There is a minimum of 10 teams required for the tournament to be a go, and the cost is $10 per team. Possible participants must have already purchased a ticket to the event itself to participate. The winning team will get fifty percent of the proceeds and a new set of cornhole boards.
This year to honor the 20thanniversary of the event, according to Davis, anyone who purchases $20 in 50/50 tickets will be entered in a drawing to win a Zippo grill and a $100 meat package from Save-A-Lot. The raffle items up for grabs include a $500 VISA gift card; four Pittsburgh Penguins game tickets and a $100 VISA gift card; or one of five $20 Bradford Area Chamber of Commerce gift certificates.
It’s not too late to reserve your spot; advanced reservations are $35, while walk-ins will be $40. The price includes the buffet dinner, desserts and beverages.
Additional monetary and in-kind sponsors this year include Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, Mike and Amy DePalma, Thirty-One Independent Director Heather Bell, State Farm Agent Jennifer McMillen, Westline Inn, Glenwood Beer Distributors, A & B Barbeque, Save-A-Lot, Tops Supermarket, Zippo and Gus and Mary Ann Crissman.
The annual United Way campaign is currently supporting several local programs and services in 2018, including A Partnership in Housing Inc., Alcohol & Drug Abuse Services, Bradford Ecumenical Home Inc., Bradford Regional Medical Center’s Meals on Wheels program, CARE for Children, Court Appointed Special Advocates of McKean County, Catholic Charities, Destinations Bradford, Dickinson Center, Evergreen Elm, Futures Rehabilitation Center, Greater Bradford Senior Activity Center, Growing with Grace Christian Preschool, McKean County 2-1-1, McKean County Arts Council, McKean County Historical Society, McKean County Special Olympics, McKean/Potter American Red Cross, The Bradford Family Center, The Salvation Army, YMCA of the Twin Tiers and the Bradford YMCA.
For more information on the Pig Roast/Clam Bake, or the United Way’s annual campaign, Be The Change, visit uwbanews.org or call (814) 368-6181.
