ALEXANDER – The 17th Annual Bakken Rocks CookFest is bringing its festivities to Alexander on Thursday, July 17.

The Bakken Basics Education Session, with various speakers giving presentations, will be held from 2:30-4 p.m. in Alexander City Hall. A free barbecue, games, activities for kids and music by Mendenhall Crossing will be held from 4-7 p.m. in Alexander City Park, followed by awards presented for Judge’s Choice and People’s Choice at 6:45 p.m.

Held each summer in the oil patch by the North Dakota Petroleum Foundation, 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, and enjoy a barbecue.

Since 2009, the event has hosted more than 27,000 people in 27 different communities throughout western North Dakota.