international bbq festival may not go ahead!!

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Got this from the international bbq cook off facebook page:

I'm posting it because they seem to want public support, if you're on facebook join the group and help out.

Hi all,
Well, the news is not good. Unfortunately we are not in a position to run this International BBQ Cook-Off this year.

First of all we were told by the Limerick Co-Ordination Office that they would not be able to fund the upcoming BBQ Cook-Off as part of River Fest - After much work and persuasion only a week ago we were allocated a mere €10,000 gesture from them to run an event that costs over €50,000 cash - this event generates a massive amount of tourism for the city, with over 40,000 people flocking onto the streets of Limerick to witness this spectacular event. We later learned that there has been money allocated to pointless things that generate no business such as fireworks, and the likes of the French Market, who just rip the public off. We requested that they provide us with just €20,000 towards the city to make this FREE EVENT happen. Yes this event is completely free to the contestants and to the general public!!

The Limerick Co-Ordination Office was set up to manage the City and its festivals including the PR and Pubic Image of the City. This event has been Limerick's most successful festival and it beggers belief what do the Co-Ordination Office actually do? This event has brought massive pride and great PR to a city that needs it more than ever! We always managed to get TV3 coverage with Ireland AM, RTE News, Nationwide features not to mention national and international media coverage.

We are voluntary organisation who take pride in bringing such an event to the city. This event has made its mark in Limerick, and it is with much disappointment and sadness that we have to make this announcement.

May we request that you heighten awareness to everybody on your friends list by requesting they join our group, and perhaps leave messages on our wall to show the overall disappointment that the city is leaving us in no position to run this event.

We are not giving up on this, but have to come to terms it will not happen on the May Bank Holiday Weekend, and it might not even happen in the city unless we get the necessary funding! Watch this space! We will not go down without a fight!

It is always a great day when this is on, and Georges Quay is always packed to capacity every year, it would be a shame for this to fall by the wayside because of funding, and what appears to be short term financial views on behalf of the council.

Mc Love

Times are tough!

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sparkysrovers wrote: »

Times are tough!

times are tough indeed, but the amount of money brought into the city on the bank holiday weekend, surely justifies spending €20,000 to help keep the festival afloat

sioda

No great loss IMO always found it to be a waste of time and money.

bazz26

With all the doom and gloom going on around the country events like this are important to keep some sort of positive front on things.

I would rather this than stupid fireworks that last 15 mins.

Builderfromhell

I ALSO WONDER WHAT EXACTLY DO THE lIMERICK cO-oRDINATION OFFICE DO. SURELY THEIR COMBINED SALARIES ARE MORE THAN WHAT THIS FESTIVAL REQUIRES.

CoDy1

No point, half of Limerick will be in Dublin for a cetain match anyway.;)

Aidric

It was a worthwhile and well organised event, it's a shame if it doesn't go ahead.

talkingclock

sioda wrote: »

No great loss IMO always found it to be a waste of time and money.

+1 wont miss it.

TBH the whole may bankholiday weekend has been a joke in the last years.
tug o' war(!) match last year, french market rip-off and drinking outside locke bar. great.

Yes this event is completely free ... to the general public!!

exscuse me?!?!? what's this about? do they really expect someone would pay for a sniff coming from a BBQ??? did they had at least some tasters last year for "the general public". I only heard complaints about samples for judges only...

sioda

I like the french market ok the cream and bacon spuds really but tbh if i wanted bbq i'd do it at home never got any food from there free or otherwise

Amazotheamazing

Builderfromhell wrote: »

I ALSO WONDER WHAT EXACTLY DO THE lIMERICK cO-oRDINATION OFFICE DO. SURELY THEIR COMBINED SALARIES ARE MORE THAN WHAT THIS FESTIVAL REQUIRES.

Good question.

They do arrange certain things for Munster matches, iirc, but overall, you couldn't say they're doing a great job.

That being said, the bbq should go ahead.

Amazotheamazing

talkingclock wrote: »

+1 wont miss it.

TBH the whole may bankholiday weekend has been a joke in the last years.
tug o' war(!) match last year, french market rip-off and drinking outside locke bar. great.



exscuse me?!?!? what's this about? do they really expect someone would pay for a sniff coming from a BBQ??? did they had at least some tasters last year for "the general public". I only heard complaints about samples for judges only...

Easy to be a critic TC, what do you do to make Limerick a better place, free or otherwise?

If you walked by it in Galway or Cork you'd come on here crying that we can't have something like it in Limerick.

sioda

Amazotheamazing wrote: »

That being said, the bbq should go ahead.

Well why not make it a public event as in bring burger have bbq.

As for the co-ordination office the projects they are involved in can be found here http://www.limerickcoordination.ie/projects but tbh I think this could be as easily handled by the council

johnmolloy554

Amazotheamazing wrote: »

If you walked by it in Galway or Cork you'd come on here crying that we can't have something like it in Limerick.

You just hit the nail on the head. If certain people don't like the event, then don't bother going down to it. With the match in Croke Park, the city needs every event to bring people in.

Poxyshamrock

There's fireworks this year!!!

supadude

noooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Buglim

Hi Everyone

I've had a few dealings with the Limerick Co-Ordination office and I have to say these guys are a complete waste of time.

zuroph

Why riverfest anyway? The river activites ended years ago. Was my favourite weekend In Limerick, and they've ruined it too. city has fcuk all going for it. Its not hard to organise a festival to get tourists in, every town in the country manages it, but Limerick cant pull the thumb out of its hole and get it done.
We would have been better off if the council HAD gone bankrupt that time. idiots the lot of them.

talkingclock

Amazotheamazing wrote: »

Easy to be a critic TC, what do you do to make Limerick a better place, free or otherwise?

nothing. because
a) i hate that place (and you don't want me to put in writing what i think about limerick!)
b) i don't get paid to organize any festivities

To make that place look nicer my way is unfortunately no option as it would cause a lot of 'collateral damage'

Amazotheamazin wrote:

If you walked by it in Galway or Cork you'd come on here crying that we can't have something like it in Limerick.

sorry, i wouldn't. i've never done this and will never do this

I think if the city councel puts buckets of horse manure at Cruises Stand claims that it would attract tourists you still would applaud the city council...

goingpostal

Buglim wrote: »

Hi Everyone

I've had a few dealings with the Limerick Co-Ordination office and I have to say these guys are a complete waste of time.

They must be trying to set a new world record for incompetence in the Co-ordination Office. First they make a complete ring of the International Marching Bands festival on March 15th and now this. They couldn't co-ordinate a booze-up in a brewery! Another wonderful Celtic Tiger quango.

Birdie086

sioda wrote: »

I like the french market ok the cream and bacon spuds really but tbh if i wanted bbq i'd do it at home never got any food from there free or otherwise

the cream and bacon spuds were the only reason to go to the French Market!!! Managed to get fed at the first BBQ they had but only because I was seven months preggers and people felt sorry for me!!

Amazotheamazing

talkingclock wrote: »

nothing. because
a) i hate that place (and you don't want me to put in writing what i think about limerick!)
b) i don't get paid to organize any festivities

To make that place look nicer my way is unfortunately no option as it would cause a lot of 'collateral damage'

I know what you think of the place, which you're free to feel, I just find it sad on your part that after two and half years complaining about the place on here, you haven't made either any effort to make the place better, or to leave.

Take 99'er for example, I absolutely abhor his politics, but at the same time I respect that he's willing to go there and work to get someone elected and make a change in this city. It's not enough, imo, to continually criticise, we all have to try and make this place a better city.

Does this bbq make Limerick a better place, if only for one day? Yes, of course it does. Am I surprised you found a way to complain about it, no.

talkingclock

You might have noticed that I don't post that much here anymore. I tell you somethng: I've left that town! One of the best decisions I ever made!

I think I said it somewhen last year that i was unfortunately bound for some family reasons to Limerick. But now eventually I'm gone. And I'm happy about it. Unfortunately LIM still haunts me...

The Mods/Admisn might get my new place from the IP address.

One question: are you working for LIM CC by any chance or are you somehow involved in an "official"i way running this city?

Amazotheamazing

talkingclock wrote: »

You might have noticed that I don't post that much here anymore. I tell you somethng: I've left that town! One of the best decisions I ever made!

I think I said it somewhen last year that i was unfortunately bound for some family reasons to Limerick. But now eventually I'm gone. And I'm happy about it. Unfortunately LIM still haunts me...

The Mods/Admisn might get my new place from the IP address.

One question: are you working for LIM CC by any chance or are you somehow involved in an "official"i way running this city?

So, you no longer live here, but you still check in here to make sure you can run it down whenever you can.

I'm glad you've moved on, it's great it's working out for you. Don't waste your energy looking back negatively on Limerick.

I don't work for Limerick CC, and oddly enough I'll be leaving Limerick myself pretty soon, but that doesn't mean I can't appreciate it's good points.

goingpostal

Talkingclock should drop the second "L" from his name and he would have the perfect descriptive name for himself.