Battle Below the Clouds BBQ competition: A good time for a good cause
Ruby Falls is all about bringing fun to kids and families. We combine a brand of excitement and adventure that is hard to find anywhere else. On Saturday, April 29th, Ruby Falls is partnering with Coca Cola, Food City and The Barn Nursery to team up with Lana’s Love to help bring some fun into the lives of kids who are battling cancer. Our Battle Below the Clouds amateur barbecue competition will surround Ruby Falls with the savory smell of BBQ, while raising funds and promoting awareness of pediatric cancer.
This is the 3rd consecutive year of the competition, in which we partner with Lana’s Love, a Chattanooga foundation whose mission is to help kids diagnosed with cancer and their families have fun.
Lana’s Love was started by the family of Lana Beth Webster. Lana Beth was diagnosed with Stage 4 Neuroblastoma when she was 6, and fought courageously for five years until passing away. The foundation works to help families with pediatric cancer patients enjoy life with their loved ones by setting up family outings at places where you know kids will have fun, like Ruby Falls and many other Chattanooga area attractions. They also plan many different activities with the patients, hand out gift bags, as well provide arts and crafts for the kids. All activities are free to the patients and their families.
Jim Webster is Lana Beth’s father, and is overwhelmed every year by the generosity of the people at Ruby Falls and the success of the Battle Below the Clouds event.
“Lana’s Love’s association with Ruby Falls has been amazing,” said Jim. “The Battle Below the Clouds was wholly their idea. It is a fun event that raises thousands of dollars for the kids and families of Lana’s Love. Even the BBQ teams give away free samples to Lana’s Love families and help raise money for the charity. Ruby Falls supports us in numerous ways, and I can’t imagine a better partner to help us with our mission.”
To register your team, go to Battle Below the Clouds or Lana’s Love. The competition is a festive and family-friendly event with live bands, prizes and giveaways. Awards will be given for Best Pulled Pork, Best Ribs, and Grand Champion.
All contestants will receive one bone-in pork butt and one slab of baby back ribs courtesy of Food City. The entry fee is tax deductible, and 100 percent of your entry fee goes to help brighten the day of a kid with cancer. Entry fee also includes a little fun for yourself, with two tickets to the ZIPStream Aerial Adventure, as well as two tickets to explore the magnificent Ruby Falls. Combine the value of the tickets with the knowledge of knowing that the $400 entry fee will go towards putting a smile on a kid’s face, and it’s a deal too good to pass up.
The cookers and smokers will fire up at 6 a.m. in the Ruby Falls bus parking lot, and BBQ must be turned in for judging by 5 p.m. Participants are limited to 15 teams, and registration closes April 23. Go ahead and get your backyard BBQ team together today to help bring joy to the kids of Lana’s Love. Sign up your team or donate to Lana’s Love at Ruby Falls’ Battle Below the Clouds or Lana’s Love registration page.
