Festival Plaza
101 Crockett St
Shreveport, LA 71101

Teams will be located in the Upper Pavilion area.

Gumbo Roux MUST be prepared on-site! Powdered or jarred roux is not allowed and using either is grounds for disqualification.

Powdered/jarred spices may be used on-site for seasoning purposes.

Proteins, veggies, and/or other stock may be cooked/prepared in advance.

Recipe Quantity

For each category entered, your team must prepare a minimum of 8 gallons of Gumbo (and proportionate prepared rice).

Gumbo Samples

Gloves must be worn by all Team Members when preparing samples.

Judging Samples: 32oz samples for each category entered to be delivered to the Judging Drop-Off at the appointed time for each category

Public Samples: ¼ cup samples (sample cups provided by Volunteers for Youth Justice) for 2 tickets per sample

Each team will have a 10ft x 10ft tented space (tents supplied by the event’s Tent Sponsor) with additional room behind the booth for storage. Volunteers for Youth Justice will provide two (2) tables and two (2) chairs, and electricity and shared sinks will be available.

Teams are encouraged to decorate their booth with a theme to attract attention and create a fun environment! When choosing a theme/décor/costumes, please keep in mind that this is a family event. Trophies for Team Spirit and Best Booth Design are presented during the Awards Ceremony.

Items Supplied by Event Host

Volunteers for Youth Justice will provide every team with:

• Judging Sample cups for each category entered
• Collection Buckets for Gumbo Sample tickets and People’s Choice tokens
  Please note that Teams receive only one bucket for People’s Choice voting, even if your team is competing in more than one category.
• The following replenishable supplies:
• Public Sampling cups
• Spoons
• Napkins

Teams will receive initial supplies at the mandatory Team Meeting (see Team Captains) the morning of the event. VYJ volunteers will come around to replenish supplies throughout the event, but additional supplies will be available at the RED BUILDING on event day.

Items Supplied by Teams

Each team must supply their own:

• Cooking equipment (including gas cookers)
• Serving ladles (at least 1 per Gumbo category entered)
• Ingredients (including rice!) — enough to make at least 8 gallons of each Gumbo category entered

Each team will designate a Team Captain, who is responsible for:

• Attending the mandatory Team Meeting at 8:00 AM the morning of the event in the Hospitality Tent
• Rules and other important details will be discussed and each team will receive their initial supplies
• Delivering/sending the Judging Sample for each category entered is taken to the Judging Drop-Off at the appointed time for that category
• Seeing that their Team’s assigned area is kept clean during the event and that the Team space is vacated by 7:00 PM the day of the event
• Teams are responsible for their own garbage and should dispose of the garbage in the designated cans in the cook-off area. Team space must be clean and all trash removed before leaving

Standard check-in and setup begins at 5:00 AM the day of the event.

If your team elected Early Setup during registration, you may check-in and begin setup from 12:00 PM — 6:00 PM on Friday, March 5^th (3/5/27).

When your team arrives, you must check in with the Gumbo Teams volunteer (even if you already know your booth’s location) to receive your booth number and team packet before beginning setup.

Each team packet includes 5 entrance wristbands. While here is no limit to team size and all team members will be able to enter the festival during setup, only those with wristbands will be able to leave the festival and re-enter once the event is open to the public. Sharing or passing around of wristbands is NOT permitted and torn or visibly worn wristbands will be considered void at the entry tables.

Teams are permitted to drive into the Plaza for unloading during setup and packing up after the event. However, vehicles must be parked elsewhere by 8:00 AM the day of the event and cannot return to the Plaza until the event has ended.

Teams must have their areas ready to go by 11:30 AM. The event will open to the public at 12:00 PM and public sampling must be ready at that time.

Winners will be announced at the Awards Ceremony at approximately 4:00 PM.

Gumbo Categories

Judging

Our judging process is double-blind:

• Judging Samples will be delivered to the Judging Drop-Off outside the Judging Tent at the designated time for that category (Category time provided at Mandatory Team Meeting)
• At Judging Drop-Off, samples will be assigned a pair of numbered tickets:
• One ticket will be taped to the sample before the sample is delivered to the Judging Tent
• The Team Representative delivering the sample will receive the corresponding ticket. Because winning Gumbos are identified by the Gumbo ticket number, this ticket MUST be retained! We recommend taking a picture of your ticket just in case

Judging Criteria

Judges will rate each Gumbo sample on a scale from 1—10 in the following categories:

Appearance
Does it look appealing to the eye, with a good roux color appropriate to the Gumbo category?

Aroma
Does smelling the Gumbo make someone eager to try it?

Texture & Consistency
Are the ingredients appropriately cooked? How is the balance of ingredients and thickness of the base? Does it stir like a good gumbo?

Flavor
Is it pleasing to the palate with well-balanced ingredients and seasoning?

Awards

1st, 2nd, and 3rd place will be awarded in each Gumbo category. Winners receive a Trophy and Team Medals, as well as the following prizes:

1st Place
$750 & FREE Team Registration for the following year

2nd Place
$500 & 50% off Team Registration for the following year

3rd Place
$250 & 25% off Team Registration for the following year

People’s Choice

Judging

Every entrant age 12+ will receive a People’s Choice token used to vote for their favorite Gumbo/Gumbo Team at that team’s booth. Voting buckets are collected and counted by event staff at 3:00 PM.

Awards

1st, 2nd, and 3rd place will be awarded. Winners receive Team Medals.

The 1st Place winner also receives $300 and a Trophy.

Team Sprit & Best Booth Design

Judging

The Team Spirit and Best Booth Design awards will be judged by event staff/volunteers according to:

• Team attitude (HAVE FUN!)
• Booth decoration
• Team costumes
• Any other form of Team Flair (je ne sais quoi) you can imagine!

Awards

The winning team in each category will receive a Trophy.

Other than Gumbo, no food or drinks may be sold to the public by Gumbo Teams. Volunteers for Youth Justice and approved vendors will provide drinks and additional food concessions during the event.

Glass bottles/containers in the cook-off area are prohibited unless approved by the Gumbo Teams Chairperson.

Teams may listen to their own music before the event start. However, once the event opens to the public at 12:00 PM, no music may be played by teams. There will be a DJ or band playing music for the entire festival area.

All times stated in these rules and regulations are subject to change. The Battle of the Gumbo Gladiators Cook-off Planning Committee and Representatives of VYJ reserve the right to make additional regulations as situations warrant.  Gumbo Teams will be notified if changes are made. Decisions of the committee and judges are final.

Volunteers for Youth Justice has the right to refuse any application.

Volunteers for Youth Justice (VYJ), its officers, agents, employees, and other representatives shall not be held liable for, and they are hereby released from liability for, any damages, loss, harm or injury to the person or property of the Battle of the Gumbo Gladiators, any of its officers, agents, employees or other representatives, resulting from theft, fire, water, weather, accident or other cause. Battle of the Gumbo Gladiators participants hold VYJ harmless from any claims, demands, suits, liability, damages, loss costs, attorney fees and expenses of whatever kind or nature, that might result from or arise from any action or failure to act on the part of the cook-off participant or any of its officers, agents, employees or other representatives.