The weather cooperated, the crowd turned out, the steaks were grilled, and a team emerged victorious.

The inaugural Fall Jubilee and Steak Cook-Off in Oakdale, hosted Saturday, Oct. 10 at the Oakdale Saddle Club Rodeo Grounds, brought together a number of community service organizations, activities for kids, vendors, food, entertainment and more.

“It was good, a lot of planning went into it … we planned this for two years,” said Oakdale Chamber of Commerce CEO Cher Bairos, with the Chamber taking the lead in putting on the Jubilee. “I feel it went really well.”

She said a lot of pieces fell into place, with the Rodeo Grounds being available for the Saturday festivities, as well as a Jubilee kick off concert on Friday night, Oct. 9 featuring Alex Lucero.

Steak was definitely on the menu, with the cook-off competition hosted, in addition to the Oakdale Lions Club serving up a steak dinner, separate from the contest.

Taking home the prize money, trophy and belt buckle for their grilling greatness were Modesto Fire Chief Shannon Evans and Deputy Chief Jair Juarez. They have bragging rights for the next year, Bairos said.

Several teams took part in the competition and there was a panel of judges that rated the steaks and declared the winner.

There was entry at the back side of the rodeo grounds only, off D Street, for the Jubilee and Bairos said the cash only fee of $5 helped raise some money on Saturday. The Chamber plans to share proceeds – after expenses – from the Jubilee with the various non-profit groups that assisted.

Throughout the day, there was musical entertainment, games for kids, a bicycle rodeo, a number of vendors that were regulars at the Oakdale Morning Market for the last several months on Saturdays, in addition to some roaming princesses and other costumed characters.

Bairos said there were many groups that helped make the event a success, from the Oakdale Saddle Club to Oakdale Lions, Oak Valley Hospital and Ardis Cattle, Love Oakdale, Mel Bradley with his Team 209 cycling group, and more.

“I also have to give a special shout out to G&S Realty and Greg Shipman, he is a Chamber board member and he was the main guy,” Bairos said of Shipman being her go-to on Saturday for whatever was needed during the Jubilee festivities.

The crowd was good and those that didn’t pre-order the steak dinner served by the Lions Club had a variety of food and beverage options to choose from.

“We’re very happy and there was just a lot of good stuff there,” Bairos shared of the overall event. “We look forward to doing it again next year.”