Want to enjoy some sun, food and fun while supporting a good cause? The Boothbay Veterans Emergency Temporary Shelter (V.E.T.S.)’s annual barbecue and fundraiser awaits.

The Saturday, Aug. 2 event runs from noon to 3 p.m. on Boothbay Common. Admission is $15. Buy tickets at https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/annual-bbq-and-fundraiser 

In addition to a smorgasbord of yummy barbecue staples, there will also be lawn games, a silent auction and an 18-piece jazz band.  

Proceeds will go to the Boothbay V.E.T.S. program, a nonprofit that has been retrofitting trailers since 2020 to provide shelter to homeless veterans until they can be placed in permanent housing. Each trailer includes a bed, microwave oven, mini refrigerator, emergency commode, fan and heater. According to V.E.T.S. President Ed Harmon, it costs about $13,600 to refurbish a trailer. His team has made 41 so far. Two trailers will be dedicated to late veterans during the event.  

“The greatest thing for us is when we go out, and a veteran breaks into tears ... They say to us, ‘I thought I was forgotten.’ And we don't forget.”  

The team plans to create larger trailers to accommodate those with spouses and children, who are often excluded from other veteran-targeted programs, said Harmon. Helping those whom others forget is also why the organization doesn’t exclude those who exhibit destructive tendencies from living in a trailer. When one comes back destroyed, the team fixes it and sends it back out.  

“(People) come to us because we have one rule, (other organizations) have too many rules.”