The intoxicating smell of smoked meat filled the Spring Valley air on Oct. 17 as Troy Street was closed down for the inaugural Spring Valley BBQ Festival, hosted by Cali Comfort Restaurant & Sports Bar.

Local participating teams got their grill on, competing the most mouth-watering culinary competition the community has ever seen. And while there were victors in each of the four categories, the real winners were the kids of the Los Toros Bulls Football & Cheer organization—and the thousands of people who braved the rain to sample some knockout barbecue.

The festival was the brainchild of Cali Comfort owners Shawn Walchef and Corey Robinson, who "cooked up" the idea of a barbecue festival two years ago, as a way to give back.

"It's something that we just wanted to do," said Walchef. "[Los Toros] was the best organization for helping youth in the area, and they are sports-oriented, so it just made sense. So we decided to have an event to raise money for the kids and help their families be able to pay the league fees."

The sentiment alone was enough to leave Los Toros President Tracie Egbert speechless.

"I was just dumbfounded," she said, recalling being approached by Walchef more than a year ago. "I didn't know who they were, but I knew of the restaurant. When people come along and basically hand you money, you want to know why."

From there, Egbert and the restaurant owners met nearly every Tuesday, hashing out the details. And when it all came to fruition, the community was blessed with a day of camaraderie, live local music, a fun zone for kids, football games, and of course, the 'cue.

It's been quite a big year for Los Toros, fundraiser aside. The organization is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, and continually strives to provide a positive place for boys and girls to play football or cheer, while helping the development of their souls, minds and bodies.  The organization currently consists of 10 football teams and five cheer squads, including one of the only special needs cheer squads in the county.

Egbert said that there are approximately 275 boys and 60 girls in Los Toros, including three girls who lace them up on the gridiron. The registration fees are typically around $450 per child. And while the parents pay the majority of those fees, Los Toros makes up the difference.

Egbert said that they are still in the process of adding up the money raised for the group at the festival. She is hopeful that with the funds, Los Toros will be able to pay for all of its overhead costs for the 2010 season, including  fees and lighting at the Sweetwater Lane Sports Complex, referee fees, and equipment costs.

There were 13 amateur teams competing, all from the Spring Valley area: Los Cuñados y El Joey, Lemon Grove Moose Club, Smoked Out, Team Bishops, The Carlsbad (St.) Crew, Team Brandy (Shawty's), Team Smoke Dis, Tanga Ribs, Rose Dale BBQ, Spring Valley Rotary, Rib Tickler's Sons, Just Meat, and Ageel Birthday BBQ Team.

The winners in each of the categories were as follows:

Grand Champion:  Rib Tickler's Sons
1st Place Tri-Tip:  Team Brandy
1st Place Pork Ribs: Just Meat
1st Place Chicken: Rib Tickler's Sons
Grand Champion Tailgate Decor:  Rose Dale BBQ

"This is such a nice thing for the community," said Margo Rodriguez, a Spring Valley resident.

"It's a great cause too," said her husband, Johnny, between bites of barbecue smoked salmon from the Rotary Club. "I have granddaughters who play soccer, and all of these little leagues need help. Anything that they can do to help the kids is great."

Despite the rain, the mood of the festival was one of celebration and family, everyone showing pride in their neighborhood.

"We're having a great time," said Carol Burt and Charlene Lewis after sampling the pulled pork from Bishop's Softball. "I hope they do this kind of thing more often. It's so fun. It's a good showcase for local businesses, and it's great for the local economy."

Walchef said they were ecstatic at the turnout in spite of the wet weather.

"The attendance was really exciting to see, even though it was our first one," he said. "Some people we talked to who have lived in the area for almost 40 years said they've never seen anything of that scope in Spring Valley. Once the band started playing, the kids were tossing the football around and the girls started doing cheers in the street. It was just a really fun thing to be a part of."

Altruism aside, the BBQ Festival was a benchmark day for Spring Valley, and the beginning of a tradition that hopefully will continue to grow each year. Walchef admits that it was a learning experience, and that "we were learning what we needed, as we needed it." But he says the experience will help the organizers put on a bigger and better festival in the future.

Check out more photos on the Cali Comfort Web site, or on the BBQ Festival Facebook page.