Cookin’ in Central Set This Weekend At Magnolia Square

CENTRAL — The 2012 Cookin’ in Central celebration will kick off this Friday, March 23 at 5 p.m. and continue until 4 p.m. on Saturday, March 24.  It will be a whirlwind of activities with great food, and the money raised will help good causes in Central.

Chairman Louis DeJohn said proceeds from the event this year will go to

• All Central public, private, and parochial schools

• Disabled veterans

• Central Community Assistance Foundation, which aids low income children in Central

DeJohn said 100 percent of all donations by sponsors will go to disabled veterans.

The fun will begin at 5 p.m. on Friday with the Navy Brass Ensemble Band and continue with Carbon Copy Band from 7 to 9 p.m.  As always, Friday night will feature a giant Crawfish Boil, with plates going for $15 each.

Some of the contestants in the Annual Cookoff will begin cooking Friday and continue throughout the evening.

On Saturday, Cookin’ in Central continues at 10 a.m.

The Cook-Off will include competition for jambalaya, BBQ chicken, couchon-du-lait or pork roast, brisket, and fried turkey.

Meal tickets will be $10.

Live entertainment will continue throughout most of the day with many schools, cheerleaders, dance teams, and others performing.

Special entertainment will be provided for children, including a rock climbing wall, dunking booth, blow ups, and more.

After lunch, the program will include Live, Silent, and Progessive Auctions.  One of the unique items to be auctioned off will include a quilt made of T-shirts from all seven years of Cookin’ in Central.

In addition to meals, snowballs, ice cream, and yogurt will be offered, as well as beverages.

Drive through dinners will be available Friday night and Saturday.

The $10,000 Auction will draw lots of interest.  Tickets are $100.

Judge Richard Anderson and Ms. City of Central Keeley Le-Blanc will assist in the drawing Saturday afternoon.

Tickets for the Crawfish Boil and lunch on Saturday can be purchased at all Central public, private, and parochial schools, Chamber of Commerce, Bank of Zachary, Fidelity Bank, Hancock Bank, Neighbor’s Federal Credit Union, People’s Bank, Ross Tire, and Whitney Bank.

This is the 7th Annual Cookin’ in Central.  It began as Cookin’ for Our Neighbors and then became Cookin’ for Our Kids before adopting its current title of Cookin’ in Central.