The second annual Cast Iron Cook-Off will be held at Bradbury Mountain State Park in Pownal, on Saturday, Sept. 12. All park visitors and campers are welcome to watch the cast iron cooking and events.

Contestants must be registered to camp at Bradbury Mountain State Park on the nights of Sept. 11 and 12, and cannot check in until after 1 p.m. on Sept. 11. The competition will be limited to 16 participants.

To register and reserve a spot, call the park at 688-4712 by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 9. After that, any available spots will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. There is no scheduled rain date.

On Saturday morning, local Girl Scouts will be cooking to earn merit badges. Competitors also will be starting their fires and begin cooking. A cast iron swap meet is at 9:30 a.m. at the day-use group shelter. At 12:30 p.m., cast-iron cooking expert and L.L. Bean employee Georgette Kanach will give a demonstration of how to cook with cast iron – sharing both her passion for cast iron cookery and samples. Learn a bit of the history of cast iron cookware, as well as its proper care and cleaning, from Park Manager Fritz Appleby, at 1:30 p.m. The cast iron skillet toss and bean bag toss start at 2:45 p.m. Cast iron cooking competition judging and awarding of prizes is at 5 p.m. at the day use shelter.

“Cast iron cooking and camping are just a natural fit,” said Appleby. “The current boom in cast iron popularity and the renewed public interest will be enhanced at our event.”

For more information, see www.maine.gov/bradburymountain.

Bradbury Mountain State Park is hosting its second Cast Iron Cook-Off Saturday, Sept. 12. Among the presenters are Fritz Appleby, park manager and cast iron pan aficionado, who posted this photo of one of his treasures on his Facebook page.

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