VISTA — Aug. 31 marked the 50th anniversary of the Vista Elks Lodge Family BBQ, the one time a year the Vista Elks open their doors to the public to raise funds for a host of philanthropic causes.

“The Elks are a group of patriotic individuals, all believing in God, that have a very benevolent side to their existence,” Kirk Lazar, the Lodge’s Exalted Ruler said. “Our big national charity is crippled children ... at Christmas time, we feed 500 families, gift 500 kids ... anything we can do to help our community.”

In addition to the heaped plates of food, attendees got to enjoy karaoke, participate in the horseshoe tournament and ogle the classic cars in the parking lot. They also got to enjoy some of the more eclectic entertainments the lodge has to offer like pig races and games that have people betting on which spot of ground a chicken will excrete on first.

“We try to bring a little bit of what the Elks did years ago,” Lazar said with a smile.

Lazar estimated the event drew in more than 300 people, a drop-off from the 1,000-attendee events of days gone, but still a respectable number, he said.