Come For the Booya, Stay for the Fun

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Come for the booya. Stay for the fun.

That’s the message from organizers of the 34th annual Apple Valley Firefighters Association Booya, planned for Saturday, Sept. 15, at Fire Station 1, County Road 42 and Hayes Avenue.

While the centerpiece of the affair is the booya—a tomato-based stew of meat, garden vegetables and a secret combination of spices cooked over a fire in cast-iron pots—residents who attend the event also are treated to a wealth of baked goods and family-geared activities like bingo, jumpers and a dunking booth.

The booya is a community-building event, said firefighter Laura Basballe, a four-year member of the fire department and an event organizers.

“This has become a much anticipated annual event,” she said. “For the fire department, it’s a chance for us to show off the station, to shine up the engines and to promote fire prevention. And, we can show our hospitality to the community.”

Residents have reciprocated the hospitality by generously supporting the booya, the relief association’s lone fundraiser of the year. The association earns money through food sales, as well as from a meat raffle and silent auction held in conjunction with the booya.

Last year’s booya raised $24,000, a record for the event, Basballe said.

“The community is tremendous in their support of this event,” she said.

BUILDING A BETTER BOOYA

There’s more to making booya than chopping a few vegetables and throwing them into a pot of water, said Basballe and Lt. Colleen Elvin, six-year fire department veteran and another event organizer.

“We start prepping the vegetables the day before so we have enough time to get everything ready,” said Elvin. “Then the night before, the firefighters are in [the fire house] cutting up the chicken, pork and beef.”

Once the prep work is complete, the cooking begins, usually at about 11 p.m. A fire is built in a fire pit behind Station 1, and firefighters stir the cast-iron cauldrons throughout the night with boat oars.

Firefighters begin serving booya at 10 a.m., typically to an already-lengthy line of hungry customers.

Booya is served by the bowl, quart and gallon. Close to 500 gallons of the stew is served before the pots run dry.

Basballe said the firefighters usually run out of booya by 2 p.m., depending on the weather.

“If it’s cool and breezy, we will sell out quickly,” she said. “If it’s warm and sunny, it takes a little longer.”

Baked goods donated by the fire department’s auxiliary, as well as hot dogs and pulled pork sandwiches are available for those festival-goers who shy away from booya.

Elvin and Basballe advises residents to arrive at the fire station early because of the limited supply of booya.