TIOGA – The 16th Annual Bakken Rocks CookFest is bringing its festivities to Tioga on Thursday, July 18.

From 4-7 p.m., oil and gas companies will serve ribs, brisket, barbecue and more as they compete for the People’s Choice and Judges’ Choice titles.

Bill Falcon and The Good Medicine Band are slated to provide musical entertainment. There will also be games and activities hosted by the Gateway to Science, a bounce house and a target-shooting station hosted by the Mule Deer Foundation for children. All activities are free and open to the public. The location is Tioga Park on Fifth Street Northeast.

Held each summer in the oil patch, the Bakken Rocks CookFest offers residents the opportunity to get out and learn more about the oil and gas industry, meet some of its players, attend an information session at which they can listen to and visit with the experts of the industry. The Bakken Basics Education Session will be held from 2:30-4 p.m. in the Tioga Community Center, 410 6th St NE.

The CookFest has been a hallmark event of the North Dakota Petroleum Foundation since 2009. Since then, the event has hosted more than 25,000 people from 27 different communities throughout western North Dakota.