By Gerri Miller

Staff Writer

The early morning looked potentially rainy, but the day couldn’t have gone any better for the Prattville YMCA’s “Great Grits Cookoff & Festival” on Saturday.

Keith Cantrell, assistant general director for development, estimated more than 1,500 had passed through the gates by noon. “We’ve gone through 20,000 plastic cups,” Cantrell said. “We had double the people we anticipated.”

There were 36 teams this year cooking up everything from shrimp and grits with pepper jelly to chocolate bacon grits with hot fudge. There were even purple grits, wild game grits, and just plain old grits with butter and cheese. Conecuh sausage was an essential ingredient in many recipes as well as cheese. One of the fancier dishes was fried Gouda grit cakes over Conecuh creole gravy.

Seven of the teams were first-timers. “Every year it grows and our groups get more and more creative,” Cantrell said.

There was a $5 admission fee, food vendors, and many teams raffled off gift baskets and other prizes. The proceeds help fund the Coach a Child Scholarship Program, which helps pay YMCA program fees for children who need financial assistance.

Local business owners Hootie and Bob Gipson of Gipson Tire Pros came up with the idea for the Great Grits Cookoff more than eight years ago and the company is the primary sponsor. “They wanted to do something to bless the community,” Cantrell said.

Cantrell said the cookoff started with 13 teams the first year and participation has tripled. The Nitty Gritty 5K race was also held Saturday morning and that event was sponsored by Promise Physical Therapy.

“We start the day with a 5K run,” Cantrell said. “It makes folks feel so much better about eating all those grits after they have gotten a little exercise.”

Will Stock and his wife Emily Stock brought their two children to the cookoff. “We love it-it is our favorite outdoor event that is hosted in Prattville,” Will Stock said. “The first time I ever tried grits was here and I fell in love with them.”

Cantrell said even though the event will raise $15,000 to $20,000 for the scholarship fund, it is bigger than the money. “This brings the community together for a common cause, which is taking care of people,” he said.

There were winners in several categories:

Golden Grit Bowl: Trinity United Methodist Church

Division winners:

Church: Journey Church

First runner up: Glynwood Baptist Church

Restaurant: Waffle House

First runner up: Milo’s

Business: Servpro

First runner up: Prattville Public Safety

People’s Choice:

Church: Journey Church.

Restaurant Division: Milo’s.