Food, drink for safety

Take action to make your community safer and alcohol-free. The Mocktail-gate drink contest and BBQ on Fri., Aug. 17 will build the football season around “virgin” drinks. It is a party that recognizes the need for safe driving and makes the countdown to the upcoming games more meaningful. Mocktails – non-alcohol versions of cocktails – contain a long-lasting message: Don’t mix drinking and driving!
The Mocktail-gate will take place from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. on Aug. 17 at the Union County Services Building, 940 London Ave., in Marysville.
Teams from organizations are invited to submit “mocktail” recipes that will be taste tested during an official competition. Team sign-up participation deadline is Fri., July 13. Completed team registrations and recipe entry forms should be returned to Liz Fries at the Union County Health Department, 940 London Ave., Suite 1100, Marysville, Ohio 43040 or to Brandy Stover, Memorial Hospital of Union County, 500 London Ave., Marysville, Ohio 43040.
Voting will be conducted for favorite drink and table decorations.
The non-alcoholic event is being presented in response to statistics that tell of the dangers of drinking and driving which tell the public that an alcohol-related traffic crash death occurs each 33 seconds in the United States.
Call the Union County Health Department, 937-642-2053, or go to www.uchd.net, for details and to get questions answered.
The Mocktail-gate is presented in conjunction with the Safe Communities/Safe Kids Coalition and is being sponsored by several area organizations: The Union County Sheriff’s Office, Union County Health Department, Memorial Hospital of Union County and Honda of America Mfg. Inc.

Edited by UCP staff.