It's considered the last big outdoor family event just as the kids wind down the summer. The annual Community Cookoff Cookout promises to have something for kids and adults with one central theme... free food!
Last year's Cookout had more than 500 people attending. "Our goal is to bring folks to a family gathering who may not get a chance to attend other spring and summer events," says organizer Ryan Smith. "Now is the time of year to unite them in a spirit of getting the kids ready for the next school year around a particular date that holds a lot of history."
The Community Cookoff Cookout started eleven years ago as a celebration in Kingsport of the 8th of August, the day back in 1863 when Andrew Johnson, then the Military Governor of Tennessee and later president, freed his slaves at his home in Greeneville. According to the Beck Cultural Center in Knoxville, many communities in Tennessee celebrate the 8th of August as Emancipation Day every year, among them Greeneville, Knoxville, Clarksville, Kingsport and 55 communities in seven other states. Meanwhile, Juneteenth is celebrated nationwide as the day in 1865 when news of the Emancipation Proclamation reached the last remaining enslaved people in the United States, even though the proclamation itself had already gone into effect on January 1, 1863. Tennessee recognizes both the 8th of August and Juneteenth as Freedom days.
The Cookout festivities start at 4 PM on Saturday, August 9, 2025 at the V.O. Dobbins ball field behind the Riverview Splash Pad, 1101 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in Kingsport. Everybody is invited. The program begins with a welcome and introduction, the reading of a city proclamation and a history of the 8th of August. Then the food is served and the activities begin. Entertainment includes music by two DJ's, a popular water slide, prize giveaways including restaurant certificates, school backpacks, and tee shirts, and other activities for both children and the young at heart.
The entire event is free and open to the public. "We are not a fundraiser," Smith says. "We don't ask for money, no donations required to come on to the ball field. Just bring your enthusiam and the kids and we'll supply everything else. Friendship, fellowship and free food. You can't top that."
On the Saturday menu are hamburgers, hot dogs, baloney sandwiches, fish, chicken and boneless wings. The side items include green beans, mac-n-cheese, greens, corn, cowboy beans, cabbage, mixed vegetables, spaghetti and pasta. "We are proud of our church sponsors, who personally cook many of the sides that we'll be serving," says Smith.
Those churches are the Central Baptist Church, the Full Gospel Mission Church and the Mt. Zion Holiness Church. Other event sponsors are the City of Kingsport, Kingsport Housing and Redevelopment Authority, Handy Man A to Z, Clark Funeral Chapel and Cremation Service, Turner Paving and Sealing, Fringe Hair and Nail Studio, Taylor's Plumbing and Home Services, Southern Roots Salon, Southern Dwellings, Salon 211, Taylor-Made Barber Shop, Hot Dog Hut, Sweet's Sports Tavern and Eatery, Texas Roadhouse, Applebee's, Chili's, Buffalo Wild Wings, Krazy Chicken, DJ Gimmee Jimmy, Monsta Amusements, Jeff's Pipe & Muffler, TN/VA Fellowship against Racism, the New Vision Youth, 2 Do Better and Vic Danger Legacy.
Smith says everybody's invited to the last big bash of the Kingsport summer. "Our motto says it all.. bring the kids, bring a seat, come eat."
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