Traverse City Events: Tickets for Sunday's NMC Barbecue are available for $2 off the price at the gate at the following locations: Oleson's food stores, area financial institutions, area elementary schools (where $1 of each ticket sale will go to the school), the Traverse City Area Chamber of Commerce, Convention & Visitors Bureau, Dennos Museum Center, and on NMC's main campus in the Admissions, President's and Public Relations & Marketing offices.
The NMC Barbecue is one of Northern Michigan's most popular and enduring traditions. The annual event brings thousands of people to NMC's main campus for an old-fashioned picnic and a chance to see their community college. For more information, call (231) 995-1020.
The late Gerald W. Oleson and his wife Frances, founders of Oleson’s Food Stores in Traverse City, started the annual fundraiser picnic in 1956. Oleson’s Food Stores continue to donate the food, and hundreds of volunteers turn out to make the event happen.
When is the Barbecue?
The Barbecue is always on the Sunday before Memorial Day Weekend — 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. To plan ahead for future NMC Barbecues, save these dates on your calendar: • Sunday, May 19, 2013
• Sunday, May 18, 2014 • Sunday, May 17, 2015
Zero Waste Event
In 2010, the Barbecue Board made a commitment to become a zero-waste event through extensive use of recycling and composting. More than 90 percent of the residuals from the Barbecue are kept out of a landfill. The Barbecue thanks the 40 volunteers who helped guests properly dispose of their materials at recycling/composting stations around campus, and partners Waste Management (recycling, equipment), Food for Thought (composting) and Rentals Unlimited (equipment).
