Mokena VFW Ready To Fire Up The Grill For BBQ Bonanza

MOKENA, IL — Summer may be officially over according to the calendar, but grilling season most certainly is not.

The Mokena VFW Post 725 Auxiliary is scheduled to host its 12th annual BBQ Bonanza from 4 p.m. to midnight Saturday at the VFW, 19852 Wolf Road.

Members of the VFW and the Auxiliary will be grilling up steak and chicken along with a variety of side dishes, with the proceeds going toward the Manteno Veterans Home, according to Post 725 Auxiliary President Vickie Hogan.

Hogan said that she learned at a recent meeting that veterans at the Manteno home were "very low." Those funds are used by the veterans to purchase food and other necessary everyday items. Another member of the Auxiliary, Maggie, has been donating money directly to the veterans to help offset the lack of funding, and Hogan said the Auxiliary wanted to chip in, too.

"Definitely we want to help add to those funds to be able to help those veterans have a little fun down there," Hogan said.

In addition to the dinner, there will also be raffles for baskets filled with items donated from many local businesses, music and a 50/50 split the pot raffle.

The cost of the dinner is $15 per person and includes either steak or chicken, plus all the sides. Dinner will be served between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m., with raffles to follow.

Food for the BBQ Bonanza was donated or sold at a generously discounted rate by Berkot's Super Foods in Mokena, Stoney Point Grill and others, Hogan said.