Five for the Fourth: What’s the Ultimate Independence Day Grillout?

Written By Cari Pierce

July 4th commemorates our country’s birth and recognizes the “self-evident truths” that Thomas Jefferson penned in the Declaration of Independence to describe the liberties that come with being an American citizen. The day is the embodiment of everything it means to be a happy, grateful American. Obviously, there is no better occasion to throw a party.

Carroll Countians seem to agree. From a small get-together of single-again women in Westminster to gatherings of hundreds on a Taneytown farm and in a development near the Farm Museum, Carroll County 4th of July parties share with one another a celebration of friends, family, food and freedom. Here are four do-it-themselves approaches to the holiday, plus a carefree family outing at the Farm Museum.

Support Group

For many, the day expands even beyond the meaning of what happened more than 200 years ago. The perfect July 4th party for Westminster’s Tricia Barnes involves spending the day with seven friends – a group of divorced women who, through their common experiences and the friendships of their children, have banded together.

“We try to be supportive of each other and supportive of the kids,” said Barnes.

Gone are the large couples parties that Barnes hosted on July 4th while she was married. But she is not looking back. For the past five years, at this party, she and her friends translate their support of each other into pure fun.

They swim, play volleyball, knock croquet balls across the lawn and end the evening with a walk to the nearby elementary school yard to watch the Carroll County Farm Museum’s fireworks light up the Westminster skyline.

“Traditionally,” said Barnes, “everybody brings something.” And, proving that grilling is not solely a man’s province, the group has the typical July 4th fare of grilled hamburgers, hotdogs and chicken, along with the side dishes that guests contribute.

“We have a lot of fun,” she said. On a serious note, she commented, “It’s good when kids have other kids they know whose families are from broken homes. It makes them feel better, too.”

Fun on the Farm

In Taneytown, at Weant-Haven Farm, the ideal July 4th grillout for the Weant family means putting on a party for 200 people every other year. What started as a pre-wedding barbecue in June 1995 for Todd and Joanne Weant grew the next year into a 4th of July party for friends and neighbors.

“We just decided that it was an excuse to kind of clean everything up and get everybody together,” said Joanne, whose daughters are the 6th generation on the dairy farm. Todd’s parents, Carl and Grace Weant, who still live on and work the dairy farm, have helped the bi-annual event to blossom.

“We invite people from all walks of life,” said Grace. “We have our business associates here on the farm. We have our neighbors. We have our friends. And, we have people who do things for us. This is our way of saying thank you, but bring a dish.”

The Weants provide the meats, drinks and paper products for the party. Friends and neighbors work the grill, cooking hamburgers and hotdogs for all the guests. “[Last] year, my mother-in-law did pork barbecue,” says Joanne. “I told her over and over, [she] shouldn’t do that. It’s extra work.” Grace wanted the menu addition just for a change and, of course, the pork barbecue was the hit of the party.

“We have some neighbors who help us to set up and take down,” said Joanne. Orchestrating a party of this size takes planning and Joanne and Grace start about six weeks before the event. They send out invitations, get ice cream or popsicles for the kids, sometimes arrange for music, borrow tables and chairs, set up tents, order the hotdogs and hamburgers from Brewer’s Market, plan games for the youngsters and buy drinks.

Parties that size seem to create their own momentum. Half-joking, Grace and Joanne say they’re going to quit hosting the expanding event, but they know that so many people look forward to it and, in the end, said Joanne, “everything kind of throws itself together.”

And, if you thought planning your July 4th party had its headaches, know that the Weants must milk their 120 cows -twice-on the day of their party, which starts, incidentally, at 7 a.m., when most of us are just waking up.

For all of the planning and work required of the Weants, their family and friends, it is no wonder that the party is not an annual event. Besides, as Grace says, “We only do it every two years because I think people appreciate it more.”

The Weants’ pride of being successful, long-standing “farm people,” as they call themselves, is expressed in their 4th of July celebration. For Todd and Joanne’s two girls, who are the only “farm kids” at their school, the party “is a great way to have their friends see their farm at its best,” said Joanne.

Slip, Slide and Eat

Blessed with a panoramic view of the Farm Museum, neighbors Byron and Karla Moore and Tom Butt and Karen Von Sas, use the combined acreage of their Diamond Hills properties to put on a 4th of July party for about 300 guests.

Byron and Karla started hosting the party in 1993 when they moved into the Westminster development. Already long-time residents of the county, they used to drive to the Farm Museum to see the fireworks. The ideal location of their home, Karla said, was “one reason to move to Diamond Hills.”

Every year, the Moores invited all their friends and their new neighbors, including Tom and Karen, who lived a short distance away in the community. When Tom and Karen moved to the home right next to Byron and Karla’s, Karen suggested to Karla that they co-host the party.

The annual gathering “is just a part of the summer,” said Karla “It’s just a really big outside 4th of July party.” But, it’s not just like everyone else’s.

For the day, the Moores feature a 200-foot long homemade water slide in their yard. “It takes and hour to two to get it all set up,” said Karen. “We use big plastic sheeting. We haven’t come up with the perfect water slide yet, but we use two or three hoses on it and we like to put some soap on it. It makes it go a little bit faster.”

It is, perhaps, the hit of the party, at least for the 80-100 kids in attendance (and a few adults using the day to recapture their youths.

The two couples provide the drinks and main staples of the cookout, including hamburgers and hotdogs they’ve purchased from Bullock’s or BJ’s.

“Bulk,” Karla said, is the operative word for their buying when Byron and Tom are grill more than 150 hotdogs and a like number of hamburgers throughout the day.

Guests bring whatever side dishes they want. No rules. “If we have 50 batches of brownies,” said Karla, “we have 50 batches of brownies. We’ll be okay. It just has always worked out.”

Byron always sets up a volleyball net or two and guests have enjoyed kickball and gymnastics over the years.
“Now that we do it together,” said Karla, “Karen has certain things that she buys – plates and whatever – and I buy whatever. It’s just so smooth now, it’s almostÉyou don’t even have to speak it. It just happens.”

Call the Caterer

If your idea of the perfect July 4th grillout entails not having to cook a thing, then caterers like Steven Holden can help.

Holden is the owner of The Smokehouse Grill, a barbecue catering specialist in Queen Anne’s County. His pit beef, ham, turkey and roasted pigs have fed partygoers throughout Maryland.

The Grill’s catering menu features half a dozen barbecue packages, including appetizers, sides, all the fixings and paper goods. Although Holden targets his business toward company picnics, corporate events and weddings, his pit beef and barbecue chicken have enhanced a few July 4th parties as well.

When Holden pulls a pig out of his special, portable pig cooker after 8-10 hours, the flavorful, succulent pork might send off taste bud fireworks. His slow cooked pit beef – seasoned with salt, pepper and bit of sea salt – is a celebration itself. In his opinion, however, “The thing I’d go for is the barbecue chicken. That’s one thing I never get tired of.”

The Easy Way

For the less ambitious, the perfect way to spend the 4th would be to leave absolutely everything up to someone else. If that’s your style, assemble your friends and family to take in the day’s activities and food vendors at the Farm Museum.

All the barbecue and grilled foods, lemonade, crafts, activities and festivities – including fireworks right overhead – that you could ever want are there every 4th of July. No planning, shopping, cooking or cleanup. Just family, friends, food and freedom. Perfect.