Daily Egyptian Reporter 13.6

Creating a beach scene with Barbie dolls laying in the sand, Carin Musak walked away with first place in the third annual alcohol-free drink contest Saturday with her drink called Heavy Petting on the Beach.

The contest is a way to show that people can have fun in a non-alcoholic way, said Musak, a first-year graduate student in health education from Geneseo.

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About 12 contestants entered the contest, which was sponsored by Jackson County Health Department in the 710 Bookstore parking lot. The event was part of First Cellular’s Main Street Pig Out.

Robert Oakes, a health educator from Southern Illinois Regional Social Service, said although the contest always has been a stand-alone event, this year it was a part of the Pig Out.

Paula Clark, health educator for the Jackson County Health Department, helped set up the contest.

We wanted people to know there are other alternatives than drinking alcohol when going out at night that are tasty and appealing, Clark said.

The judging was based on overall appeal, taste, presentation, originality, creativity of the drink’s name and the decorations of contestant’s table.

Some of the names for the drinks included Fiery Jack, Mississippi Muddy Water, Frozen Paradise and Yeh Mon.

Brenda Henderson, a senior in accounting from Carbondale and last year’s winner, came back again this year to try her luck in the contest. Henderson finished in third place.

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When I took a vacation to Jamaica this summer, we had this wonderful punch with no alcohol, so I decided to make a similar version, Henderson said.

Henderson said the Jackson County Health Department asked her to participate in the event for a second time.

They called and invited me, so I thought it would be fun, Henderson said. People are getting more into it this year, and I’m glad to see that, especially because so many kids are going to be here today (Saturday).

Local bars also sent representatives out to the contest to show appreciation of the city’s promotion of fun without alcohol.

Christy Buchannan, a senior in theater from Mt. Vernon, was a contestant representing Stix Bar & Billiards, 517 S. Illinois Ave.

We want people to know just because you go to a bar, you don’t have to drink alcoholic drinks, she said.

The second-place prize of a $50 gift certificate from Country Fair in Murphysboro went to Ryan Barton for his drink Frozen Paradise, and the third-place prize of a party supply basket from Old Town Liquors, 514 S. Illinois Ave., went to Henderson for her Yeh Mon drink.

Barton, an SIUC graduate, said he did not enter the contest just to win but to have fun as well.

The city should encourage more things like this, Barton said. The $100 prize would be nice but it’s not the biggest thing. I’m just out here to have fun.