Sturdivant Hall’s annual Barbeque on the Green has been said to be the start of the social season, with events like Tale Tellin’, Market Day and holiday festivities of sorts to follow. This year the non-profit Sturdivant Hall hopes to bring in even more fundraising success than the last.

“It going to be on Thurs Sept. 27,” Manera Searcy, executive director for Sturdivant Hall said about the event. “It is a very casual event we hold in our back courtyard and there is food which includes barbecue and all of the fixings and appetizers, deserts and beverages.”

Golden Ranch BBQ will cater the dinner, like last year’s event, and Joyce Rilee will provide deserts. This year’s live entertainment will be performer and musician Darriket Givan, who Searcy said was a big hit the last several years he has come.

“Everyone really enjoys him,” she said.

The main focus of the annual event is to raise money for upkeep and maintenance of the museum, Searcy said, something important to the community.

“Sturdivant is very important to our area,” Searcy said. “It is great for drawing in tourists. We get people visiting from all over the world and when people come here to see Sturdivant Hall they are going to do other things.”

She said if people are coming to Sturdivant Hall, they stay in local hotels and eat at local restaurants, so raising money at this barbecue ultimately helps Selma’s tourism industry.

Tickets are available now at Butler Truax & Co., the Center for Commerce and at Sturdivant Hall.

Reservations are required before Sept. 25 so that the organizers will know how much food to prepare. Reservations can also be made by emailing Sturdivant Hall at info@sturdivanthall.com or by calling 872-56-26. Tickets are $25 per person.

“A lot of people come for our formal events such as weddings and receptions,” Searcy said. “But this is a good time to just throw on your blue jeans and have a good time and be with your neighbors and friends.”

The event has corporate sponsors; so far those businesses that have purchased tables are BankTrust, BHK, Hanil Hwa, Henry Brick Co., Kiwanis Club of Selma and Pinebelt Wireless. Searcy said that Bama Budweiser, Pepsi Cola and Mark’s Mart also contribute to the event.