The Johnston Police Department and Johnston Rotary invites the public to the first annual Heroes Smoke-off event on June 16 from noon to 4:30 p.m. This event is in conjunction with Johnston Green Days, which is June 14-17 at Johnston Commons, 6700 Merle Hay Road.
Since 2013, the City of Johnston has enjoyed a sister city relationship with in Peja, Kosovo. Johnston has worked to cultivate this relationship and the past few years the City of Johnston and Johnston Rotary, have sent students from Johnston High School to participate in a Toka International Camp. This camp offers students the opportunity to broaden their cultural knowledge base, interact with students their age from around the world, meet Kosovo youth in their sister city of Peja, while fostering the relationship with leaders in Kosovo. The camp encourages lasting relationships between the youth providing them lasting knowledge on other cultures and ongoing relationships with youth around the world.
To continue building upon this sister city relationship and providing Johnston youth the opportunity to attend the Toka International Camp in 2018, the Johnston Police Department has again, partnered with the Johnston Rotary to help make this opportunity possible. They will be hosting the First Annual Smokin’ Heroes Smoke-off event on Saturday, June 16, during Johnston Green Days. The event is open to the public to enjoy the delicious smoked meats and side dishes and will run from noon to 4:30 p.m. with a free will offering.
Schedule of events during the Smoke-Off event
- 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. 4-H students will provide a BBQ education curriculum, which include how to BBQ, meat safety and how to tell the difference between different cuts of meat.
- Noon to 4:30 p.m. Attendees can taste each of the teams smoked meat and side dishes. They can also vote on their favorite side dish.
- 12:30 to 4:00 p.m. Touch-a-Truck - Children are invited to check out equipment from the Johnston Police Department, Johnston-Grimes Fire Department and the Iowa National Guard
Those interested in participating in the smoke-off competition, must fill out a registration form. There is one regulation for the team – there must be one active police, fire or military member.