WEST COLUMBIA, S.C. — Friends and family members in West Columbia got their BBQ on this weekend! Mount Hebron United Methodist Church off of Leaphart Road celebrated its 52nd annual BBQ fundraiser Saturday.
The event was 8 a.m. until 1 p.m. on Saturday, October 5, 2024.
The church's men's group hosts this fundraiser every year on the first Saturday in October. The group prepares about six months in advance and the food prep is a three day process.
This year, given the timing of the BBQ, they used wood from a tree that fell on the church property from Hurricane Helene to build the BBQ pit.
"We light the fire on Thursday evening about 10 o'clock. The bed of coals burns down and then we cook hams for the BBQ. Those go on the pit on Friday morning and cook all through Friday night and then early Saturday morning those come off, they get chopped up, they get sorted, they get sauced and then packaged into containers or put on the carry out line or the buffet line," said Jim New, co-chairman of the BBQ committee.
Church leaders tell News19 the money from the event goes to fund missions trips, home repairs, groceries, clothes and snacks for people in need through their church ministry efforts.
They had nearly 800 people show up for the fundraiser on Saturday.
