Burger lovers, mark your calendar!

Robin Krafft, Post Correspondent

The search is on for the ultimate Tillsonburger - not an outstanding town citizen, although we have plenty of those - but the TillsonBURGer, a signature version of the hamburger.

Half a dozen local restaurants and licenced food vendors are primed and busily engaged in creating a new, innovative version of the iconic culinary staple. Registration has been extended to end of day Aug. 5 and the list of competitors is growing.

Judging will take place at 11 a.m. on the lawn at Annandale NHS on August 8, as part of the Party Till the Cows Come Home festival. Celebrating our local agricultural heritage, the family-friendly event marks the 145th anniversary of Annandale Farm this year, but it’s the first time the burger competition has been held.

“The idea was born out of conversations within the Recreation, Culture and Parks team,” said Kate Bakos, Cultural Heritage Manager/Curator at Annandale NHS. “Together, we recognized that while people who hail from Tillsonburg are proudly known as Tillsonburgers, we did not have a ‘Tillsonburger’ that we get to enjoy for a nice meal.”

The panel of judges will be scoring participants on taste, creativity, presentation, local ingredients, texture, quality, and overall wow factor, in that order. The winner will receive the Golden Cowbell Trophy and bragging rights as the creator of Tillsonburg’s best burger.

“The goal, at the end of the day, is to bring the community together to celebrate something that is utterly and totally unique to Tillsonburg, and to celebrate the incredible restaurants and food vendors that make our community so special; all while sneaking a little Tillsonburg history lesson in while we do it,” Bakos said.

Come out and support your favorite competitor.