While some people look forward to the funnel cakes and lemon shakes, many other fairgoers look forward to the assembly of the block barbecue pit in the church parking lot and the food prep for the homemade applesauce and coleslaw as that is truly when it is street fair time.

This year’s dinner service, which is offered carryout style, starts at 4 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 5, and 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 6, and continues until sell out on each respective day.

Last year, the church made a total of 1,200 dinners, each with a half-chicken, baked potato, cole slaw and applesauce. All made from scratch. Dinners are $14 for adults and $9 for children. Customers also can add on a piece of pie at an additional charge.

Through the cooking process, Matt Bell, who serves as the Grace Church’s pit boss, said at least seven volunteers on the pit flip the stainless steel grates that hold the chicken around every 15 minutes. In addition, periodically the chicken is misted throughout it flipping process, taking the birds around two hours to be cooked.

Members of Grace Church pit crew wait patiently at their barbecue grill during the church’s annual chicken dinner at last year’s Columbiana Street Fair. Ten stainless steel racks filled with 350 half-chickens are flipped every 15 seconds to allow the meat to remain moist while not overcooking. (File photo by Stephanie Ujhelyi)

Last year, their food prep could be followed on social media as they made 51 pounds of homemade applesauce; washed and wrapped 1,200 baked potatoes; and had a record turnout for their coleslaw-making day.

How does Grace Church spend the funds raised?

Bell said the majority of the profits go to charities like Meals on Wheels, Operation Christmas Child and the Way Stations.

“We distribute at least $8,000 to $10,000 per year,” he concluded.

For more information about Grace Church, which is located at 140 S. Main St. in Columbiana, visit gracechurchcolumbiana.com.

Two members of Grace Church’s chicken dinner pit crew, from left, Dan Baumgardner and Steve Barnett, wait to flip their respective stainless steel racks on chicken during last year’s Columbiana Street Fair. The men were among seven volunteers manning the barbecue pit in the Grace Church parking lot, cooking the main course. (File photo by Stephanie Ujhelyi)