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The 45th Annual McGennis Youth Center Barbecue and Auction is set for this Sunday, September 28. Good food, good music and good times are the order of the day that Sunday with activities for all ages.
Children’s games will start about 12:30 p.m. with all the classic country picnic contests. There will also be an adult team competition getting underway about the same time. Horse-drawn wagon rides will be provided through the afternoon by Mumma Farms. Free face painting will be available for children through the afternoon.
New for this year is a horseshoe pitching tournament starting at 12:30. Entry fee is $10 per team with half of the entry money going to the winning team. Sign up the day of the Barbecue.
Attention will turn to the serving line at 1 p.m. Again this year Neil Steiner of Flaming Lantern will be preparing beef and pork, baked beans, potato salad, coleslaw, bread, iced tea and lemonade. Everyone who wishes to lend a hand to the Center is invited to bring along a cake for the dessert table. Any extra cakes will be auctioned off.
During the dinner hour, Erica Diehl and Dillon Smarr, Rich Hill High School students, will be providing musical entertainment. Erica and Dillon performed during the Rich Hill Fourth of July celebration.
About 1:45 p.m. a unique variety of crafts and collectible items will go on the auction block, headed up this year by Auctioneer Larry Hacker. The craft auction has become known for its quality items ranging from antiques to delicious baked goods.
A popular auction feature the last few years will be back this year. The Mad Hatter features ten McGennis Youth Center caps donated by Bell Photography. These caps, each numbered, will be auctioned off. At the end of the auction one of these numbers will be drawn. That winning number will win a Marlin bolt-action .22 mag rifle, donated by Bell Farms.
In the same vein, Schlyer Designs has donated a beautiful diamond necklace. This necklace features a 1/4-K diamond center stone with smaller diamonds around it on a 14K white gold chain and mounting. Ten numbered bracelets, also donated by Schlyer Designs, will be auctioned off, and the number drawn will win the diamond earrings.
One of the many items for the auction will be a picnic table made by the boys and staff at the Rich Hill Youth Development Center. Other items include a piggy bank full of silver coins (most of the coins are older), a wood-handle wrench and plants, all donated by Schlyer Designs.
For more information about the auction or to donate an item call Marc or Alison Bell at 660-832-4196 or drop the items off at Bell Books in Rich Hill. The generosity of those who donate and those who bid has made the auction a major revenue source for the Youth Center.
Admission to the barbecue is $9.00 for adults and $4.00 for children (ages 6-12). Tickets are for the meal and are not required for the auction.
From Rich Hill, the McGennis Youth Center is located five miles west on A Highway and four miles south on WW Highway.
