*Uncovering Florida is in no way affiliated with the Manatee Sunrise Kiwanis Club, Kiwanis International, Eventbrite, or the 5th Annual Cornhole & Cocktails Festival 2024 and receives no commissions from sales.*
Bean bags will be flying and drinks will be flowing! Is anyone up for some friendly competition at a cornhole tournament? On July 13, from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Manatee County Fairgrounds, the Manatee Sunrise Kiwanis Club is hosting its fifth annual Cornhole & Cocktails Festival.
Taking place in Veterans Hall, attendees can expect raffles, music, drinks, food, and, of course, a cornhole tournament. A variety of restaurants will be offering samples of their food and cocktails, and several breweries, distilleries, and wineries will be offering samples of their beverages. As many of the vendors will be serving alcohol, this indoor event is only for people 21 years old and older.
The cornhole tournament itself is hosted by the MVP Sports and Social Club. Competitors may enter as a team or individually and must register for the tournament on Eventbrite when purchasing tickets. According to the hosts, you will be prompted to enter your team name or yourself as a “free agent” (if competing as an individual) during check out. Only purchasing a ticket will not automatically enter you into the tournament.
The cost of general admission, which includes all of the above-mentioned vendor samples and festivities, is $50. Tickets can be purchased here.
In order to kick off the competition at 3:00 p.m., the MVP Sports and Social Club will be making up the brackets in advance, so be sure to register ahead of time. This competition will not be run as a blind draw tournament.
The cornhole competition will have a total of four divisions, including Party, Lower Lit, Upper Lit, and Fire:
Party Division:
-Intended for beginner players
-Competitors must use house bean bags.
-Competitors will play from a distance of 23 feet.
-Perfect for those who just aim to get their bean bags on the board
-Ideal for those new to the game who want to have fun and party
Lower Lit Division:
-Intended for intermediate players
-Competitors may use house bean bags or bring their own.
-Competitors will play from a distance of 23 feet.
-Perfect for those who hope to get at least two bean bags on the board and one in the hole each round
-Ideal for consistent players who want to party more than play against serious competitors
Upper Lit Division:
-Intended for intermediate players
-Competitors may use house bean bags or bring their own.
-Competitors will play from a distance of 23 feet.
-Perfect for those who plan to get all four bean bags on the board and at least two of them in the hole each round
-Ideal for good players who want to play the game and party
Fire Division:
-Intended for advanced players
-Competitors may use house bean bags or bring their own.
-Competitors will play from a distance of 27 feet.
-Perfect for those who plan to get at least two or three bean bags in the hole each round
-Ideal for those who play cornhole competitively and take it seriously
The cornhole tournament will also be doubling as a fundraising event for Kiwanis Against Hunger. This is a non-profit mission that aims to feed families around the globe, making and delivering rice-soy casseroles to malnourished children and their families. Kiwanis as a whole is “a global organization of volunteers dedicated to improving the world one child and one community at a time”.
On average, members of Kiwanis organize 1.3 million service projects and raise around $390 million annually to benefit communities, families, and children. Volunteers prepare backpacks with school supplies, build playgrounds, stock libraries, buy medical supplies, and more. According to Kiwanis, each one of its volunteers impacts the lives of around 106 children.
If you want to get involved with Kiwanis and support its mission, then you can visit their website here to learn how.
Article by Ema Tibbetts