"Small towns in North Dakota are always full of little (or in this case, huge) secrets. These kind of secrets are the ones only locals know about, but this particular town has one that has long surpassed that status. This tiny town now hosts the World’s Largest Turkey BBQ, and you do not want to miss it!" the Only In Your State says.

"The annual Aneta Turkey Barbecue Festival has become the world's largest turkey feast and keeps people coming back year after year. The festival is always held on the weekend of the third Saturday of June. Over 300 turkeys and 2000 lbs of sides including potato salad, chips, beans, and more are served to hungry visitors that come by the hundreds.

"Along with the giant barbecue, there is a Summer Festival held the at the same time with parades, events, activities, and a craft show with plenty of vendors to visit while you're not busy chowing down on turkey."

"On the third Saturday of every June, you’ll find our family at the Aneta Turkey Barbecue. The northeastern North Dakota town of Aneta’s population was listed at 188 in 2020. A village of committed volunteers hosts the event and the importance to many across multi-generations continues each year," the AG Week says.

"The turkey, which is open roasted over charcoal, reigns supreme and truly is the star of the event. If you have lousy food, no one comes back year after year. Sharing superb food with family and friends kicks off the first days of summer every year for me.

"Whatever tops your list as the most important event of the summer, the equivalent of a large Christmas gathering, show up for it. Your example sets the tone for the next generation. If our small towns and rural areas don’t have volunteers and people who show up, we die. We fail."

"The North Dakota small town, Aneta, population 250 approximately if you could the nursing home residents, hosts the World’s Largest Turkey Barbeque. This is my town. These are my people, for the past five generations. And I am really proud of this event. But here is an inside look into it," the Pinke Post says.

"Pinto beans, potato salad, pickles, buns and butter with an ice cream bar for dessert. Aneta, in Nelson County, once was a leader in turkey farming in North Dakota. Times have changed. I don’t know any turkey farmers around Aneta anymore but the tradition lives on because of dedicated community volunteers. There are potatoes grown not far from Aneta and my family raises pinto beans, wheat and more in fields just outside of Aneta.

"Volunteers, like my 89 year-old Grandpa Oscar Huso have been a part of this event since the late 1950’s and only in 1971 was it raining so hard that they served turkey inside the school. The Aneta Turkey BBQ happens because of faithful commitment from a small town and its people."

"The concept of the "world's largest" something is a classic feature of greater Midwest, but between the largest fish statues and the biggest balls of twine, there's one stop that's become engrained in the cultural fabric of its region," the Grand Forks Herald says.

"Debbie Johnson, an organizer of the event, says this weekend is the sole time of year that Aneta’s quiet streets are lined with traffic. The cookout draws an average of 2,500 people to town to chow down on hundreds of turkeys roasted for hours on long, slow-turning spits hung above a glowing bed of coals about as long as football field. Many at this year’s can remember a time when less than a dozen turkeys were cooked for local townspeople in a central park now marked fittingly with a statue of a turkey. Those days were long gone by this year’s feed.

"Over the course of the day, volunteer crews cooked 312 birds for a hungry crowd not dissuaded by the rain. Organizers estimate the barbecue drew about its usual numbers through the intermittent downpours."

"The celebration has its roots in the Aneta Booster Club, which dates to 1903. The organization began as a way to promote Aneta and its community spirit. In its early years the club supported summer baseball and horse racing and helped put on the Nelson County Fair, which was first held in Aneta over the Fourth of July in 1913," the Prairie Public Broadcasting says.

"A summer festival began in the 1920s. And the turkey barbecue began in 1961, after a picnic to thank workers who built Aneta’s elevator. The Aneta Civic Club and American Legion Auxiliary helped supply the turkey barbecue with potato salad—“an important part” of the event, according to local history. The Aneta Pavilion served as the venue for the festival’s dance.

"The event has remained a popular one. Family and old friends reunite every year at the barbecue. More than 1,600 people were served in 2019. But 2018 was even more impressive, as more than 2,000 people attended the barbecue, and three hundred and twelve turkeys were roasted over the long pit of cinder blocks loaded with charcoal briquettes. Pretty impressive for a town with a population of only 200 or so."

Facebook: Aneta Turkey Barbecue and Summer Festival

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