Lone Star College-North Harris and Jerry Pierce Enterprises are hosting the 10th Annual BBQ Cook-off and Tech Festival Weekend Friday and Saturday, Mar. 27 and 28. Entrance to both events is free.

Lone Star College-North Harris is located at 2700 W.W. Thorne Drive, one-half mile south of FM 1960 East, between Aldine-Westfield and Hardy Roads. For more information about the college, call [masked] or visit: NorthHarris.LoneStar.edu.

This is the tenth year that LSC-North Harris has hosted this event, which is designed to raise funds for applied/career technology student scholarships.

“We are thrilled at how the event has grown over the past ten years,” says Dwaine Cooper, LSC-North Harris professor of heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration program. “We started out with 8 cookers in the back of our applied technology building and now it has grown into more than 55 teams competing in an association sanctioned event and the Saturday festival, which the community really enjoys.”

The first event is the LSC-North Harris and Jerry Pierce Enterprises Barbeque Cook-Off, which begins Friday, Mar. 27. The cook-off offers more than $7,000 in prize money, and is sanctioned by the Texas Gulf Coast Barbeque Cookers Association (TGCBCA). Individuals and groups are welcome to participate. Cash prizes will be given out to first through tenth places. Entry fee for the cook-off is $125 and covers all meat categories including: chicken, pork rib, and brisket with an additional Jack Pot bean category for a $25 entry fee. There will be first, second, and third place trophy awards for each category in addition to Grand Champion, Showmanship and People’s Choice awards. Again, all proceeds go toward scholarships. To participate in the barbeque cook-off, please call, Kay Mathes at [masked].

In addition to the barbeque cook-off, there is the Technology Festival, which opens on Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and features family-oriented activities including live music and entertainment, amusement for children, door prizes and raffles, and a wide-variety of demonstrations featuring today’s latest automotive, engineering, manufacturing, welding and HVAC technology.

Area residents are also invited to bring their computers out to the festival for free problem analysis and repair performed by LSC-North Harris professors and top students. “Any parts needed for the repair must be provided by the computer’s owner,” says Allen Rice, LSC-North Harris computer information professor. “But, what we discover is 8 out of 10 times it is a software problem. And, that we can troubleshoot.”

All of the festival proceeds go to the Career Technology Scholarship Program, which provides scholarships for students in LSC-North Harris’ computer, industrial, and engineering technology programs. Event organizers are seeking sponsorships and participants for all of the activities.