The Cast Iron Chef Cook-off is a fun team competition celebrating open air cooking, community, and the local harvest. Ten teams of up to three people each will be assigned an open fire cook space at the Trail Center outdoor wagon encampment. All equipment and ingredients are supplied, and teams have three hours to produce a meal. Ingredients will be a mystery until the Master of Ceremonies reveals this information, but will feature locally grown foods. The judges are well known local culinary experts and will be judging on technique, taste, and appearance. The audience can also sample food and vote for a People’s Choice. One team will be proclaimed Cast Iron Chef Champions of 2015, an honor that comes with cash prizes. Additional prizes will be awarded for 2nd place and People’s Choice. Teams can find more information and register for the cook-off at trailtenders.org or by calling 541-523-1852.

There will be outdoor activities and games for the whole family during the event: a Wagon Master & Oxen relay race, a Buffalo Chip toss, and making homemade ice cream. Sit a spell with mountain man Joe Meek at the wagon encampment or venture inside the Center and enjoy the exhibits and documentary films.

The National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center, operated by the Bureau of Land Management, is located five miles east of Baker City, Oregon on Highway 86. Take Exit 302 from I-84. The Center is currently open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. Admission for adults is $8.00; for seniors it’s $4.50; children 15 and under are admitted for free. Federal passes are accepted. Call (541) 523-1843 for updates on programs and events.

Visit oregontrail.blm.gov for more information about the Center or call (541)523-1843 for an update on programs and events. For information on other events in Baker County, Oregon, call (800)523.1235. The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land, the most of any Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. The BLM’s mission is to manage and conserve the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations under our mandate of multiple-use and sustained yield. In Fiscal Year 2014, the BLM generated $5.2 billion in receipts from public lands.

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