Starting at 6 p.m. June 26, all volunteers are invited to enjoy a pre-festival meal, receive a volunteer T-shirt, and an overview of expectations for PoultryFest.

"We still need some volunteers," said festival chair Steve Ecker. "We still have some two-hour shifts to fill, from manning a shuttle stop to working in a booth."

Shuttle stop volunteers are needed to help with the hay wagon stairs at various stops across the town.

All potential volunteers are invited to come to the barbecue, said Ecker. The festival committee can surely find a job for anyone interested.

If a volunteer cannot make the barbecue, but still wants to help, he or she can call PoultryFest headquarters at 905-957-3751 for a debriefing.

"When you do a one-day festival, planning is the most important thing," said Ecker. "You really don't have a lot of time to react to things, so you have to be prepared."

The festival, set for Saturday, is a celebration of the region's $100-million poultry industry.

Each year, it attracts over 25,000 tourists to the town of Smithville.