Annual CSU Ag Day Barbecue Shows off Colorado Agriculture, Raises Money for Scholarships
Colorado State University celebrates its agricultural roots Sept. 25 with the 29th annual CSU Ag Day barbecue, which invites vendors to show off what Colorado agriculture brings to the table while raising money for scholarships.
The barbecue will be served from 10:30 a.m.-1 p.m. in the south parking lot of Hughes Stadium on Overland Trail between Drake and Prospect roads before the first home game of the Rams’ football season.
Tickets sold to the pregame barbecue will help raise funds for scholarships awarded to CSU College of Agricultural Sciences students. Twelve $2,000 scholarships were awarded for the 2010-2011 school year.
“Attending school and working full time has been a challenge, but I am grateful for the opportunity to obtain my Ph.D. from such a world-class institution like CSU,” said Alison O’Connor, a scholarship recipient, Ph.D. student in Horticulture and Landscape Architecture and CSU Extension agent in Larimer County. “I truly enjoy my job in Extension, and tying together my professional career with coursework and research has been very rewarding.”
A limited number of advance tickets and combination football and barbecue tickets can be purchased online, by mail or in person. All online and mail-in ordering information is at www.csuagday.com. The Ag Day office, located on CSU’s campus in Room 127A Shepardson Building, will continue to sell tickets through Sept. 24. Tickets the day of the barbecue will be slightly more expensive and limited in availability.
The barbecue menu includes Colorado-grown lamb, beef, pork, beans, dairy products, produce, watermelon, cinnamon rolls and other foods. Barbecue attendees can wash down meals with Pepsi products and Colorado-brewed beer, with all beer sales going directly to the scholarship fund. Colorado-grown flowers also will be handed out to attendees.
Ag Day activities also include live music from Kenny Cordova and the Olde Rock Band, agricultural displays, a drawing for two round-trip tickets on Frontier Airlines, a performance from the CSU marching band and visits from CSU President Tony Frank and Colorado Commissioner of Agriculture John Stulp.
At 2 p.m., the CSU Rams will take on the University of Idaho Vandals at Sonny Lubick Field in the home opener of the 2010 football season. The Rams will wear custom orange throwback jerseys to honor the original school colors of pumpkin and alfalfa.
“What started 29 years ago out of the back of a pickup as ‘beef day’ for a few fans has turned into a major CSU event,” said Dennis Lamm, professor in the CSU College of Agricultural Sciences and Ag Day organizer. “Now, Ag Day is a way to show everyone what Colorado agriculture can do and raises money for scholarships for deserving students.”
Ag Day honors the university’s rich agricultural tradition as well as the importance of the agriculture industry in the state. Agriculture is the second-largest industry in Colorado, providing more than 86,000 jobs and bringing in more than $12 billion to the state’s economy.
Ag Day 2010 is hosted by Colorado commodity groups, agricultural organizations and associations, CSU’s College of Agricultural Sciences and the university’s Department of Intercollegiate Athletics.
For more information, visit www.csuagday.com or call (970) 491-6497.
-30-