A radio station is taking a new approach to a decades-long Country Cookout contest
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
A Saskatchewan radio station is running an annual contest aimed at thanking farm families, albeit with changes that abide by social distancing protocols.
620 CKRM’s Country Cookout contest will have a virtual spin on it this year.
Typically, members of the radio station and a country music artist would visit a family farm throughout the week for a large, catered dinner and concert for about 40 people.
Given the need for physical distancing brought on by the coronavirus, the contest will operate a little differently, said Abbey White, 620 CKRM’s program director.
“We started thinking about how we accomplish this with social distancing,” he told Farms.com.
This time around, Peg’s Kitchen, who supplies the food, will cook a complete roast beef meal with mashed potatoes, perogies, cabbage rolls and more.
The meals will then be plated into individual servings and put into a cooler before a representative from the radio station delivers it to the farm family. Each winning family will have enough food for a few meals.
620 CKRM will award 12 virtual cookouts throughout the month of May.
With the food part of the contest figured out, the focus turned to securing the entertainment.
“We’ve seen lots of artists doing live performances on Facebook Live and Instagram,” White said. “So, the night the farm family would win, they’re invited to go to our Facebook page at 6:05 (p.m.) and there will be a little concert where the artist talks directly to them.”
No artists have been officially announced yet, but the lineup will include musicians from Nashville and homegrown Canadian talent, White said.
The contest is a way to thank Saskatchewan farmers for the work they do.
The role of food producers is highlighted even more as the COVID-19 pandemic has tested some parts of the food supply chain.
“My promo says the heartbeat of Saskatchewan is agriculture,” White said. “We know it’s going to be a little weird this year for everybody, but they still have to put that seed in the ground, farming is going to happen, they’re going to harvest in the fall. This contest is a small way for us say thank you.”
Farm families can begin qualifying for the contest on Friday, April 24. Listen for the dinner bell and the cue to call to be entered into the contest.