SHELBY — A barbecue competition and festival that benefits children will return to Shelby City Park this fall after a successful run in 2012.
Hog Happnin’, which last year moved to the city park from its previous location at the Cleveland County Fairgrounds, raised $15,000 in November for The Children’s Home of Cleveland County.
“We want to give (the city park) an opportunity to get a better feel for possibilities this year,” said Hog Happnin’ organizer Lloyd Williams. “The city was so helpful (last) year.”
The event moved to the city park after an October E.coli outbreak linked to the Cleveland County Fairgrounds.
Williams said the fairgrounds was always a good host for Hog Happnin’, which raised $30,000 in 2011.
“They’ve always been supportive,” he said. “It was a very hard decision (to move).”
The competition donated $12,700, the bulk of its 2012 proceeds, to The Children’s Home.
“It’s a very generous gift. We were thrilled with the amount after moving location 14 days before,” said Margie Christopher, Children’s Home executive director. “We appreciate the men and women who work all year long to make it a success.”
The community-based, nonprofit agency works to reunite children who have experienced neglect and abuse in their homes. The core of the agency’s work lies in its two group homes serving teenagers and children in Shelby and Lattimore, Christopher said.
The Cleveland County Chapter of the American Red Cross, along with other charities, will also receive a portion of the donations.
Last year, Hog Happnin’ was held alongside Connect, Commit to Change — a partnership between The Star, dozens of helping agencies and the community — and the Shelby Junior Charity League Gift Galleria to support the county’s children. Those and other events combined to form The Week of the Child, as hundreds gathered to support children via commitments to service agencies and a host of other events.
This year’s event is set for Nov. 2.
Reach reporter Alicia Banks at 704-669-3338, email at abanks@shelbystar.com and follow on Twitter @TheStarAlicia.