On Saturday August 24th the United Fire Company #1 and the Cutchogue Fire Department Ladies Auxiliary hosted their 63rd Annual Chicken Barbecue.

This annual event has grown since it's beginning to serve over 3200 people each year.

Considered "Long Island's Largest Chicken Barbecue" the event takes place each year on the fourth Saturday in August, and is held on the Fire Department Grounds. For many families, this event has officially marked the end of the summer on the North Fork.

Perfect weather consisting of sunny skies and temperatures in the near 80's set the set the stage for another successful event.

CFD members began their day at 8 o'clock in the morning finalizing preparations for the barbecue.

Volunteers over the course of the morning began husking over 7000 ears of corn, preparing over 1000 pounds of potato salad, sliced peaches, tomatoes and cucumbers for the homemade salads, prepared by the CFD Auxiliary.

Shortly after 12 o'clock the fires were lit to cook the over 3600 halves of chicken needed to serve the hungry barbecue goers. Throughout the afternoon the smell of BBQ chicken and smoke filled the air around Cutchogue Village.

At 4:30 p.m., chickens were served as the sold out crowd lined up to be seated under the tent. This would continue until the last ticket holder was seated at nearly 10:00 pm.

In what has now become a CFD tradition, the CFD Marching Band entered the tent for a special performance to close out the night to the delight of everyone attending.

The Officers and Members of the Cutchogue Fire Department and the CFD Ladies Auxiliary would like to thank our membership, the many volunteers, CFD family members, local businesses and members of the community for their continued support of this annual fundraising event.

Thank you to all of the CFD members for your hard work throughout the week to make this 62nd Annual Chicken Barbecue a huge success.

Thank you to the banner sponsors and raffle supporters.

Thank you to the Mattituck and Southold Fire Departments who stood by providing Fire and EMS coverage during the event.

Please check back, more pictures will be posted as they become available.