AIKEN --- Who cooks the best barbecue?

That's what the public gets to decide on Labor Day when community leaders don their aprons and, with barbecue as their weapon, face off on Newberry Street to help raise money for the United Way of Aiken.

"Folks can come in, sample some barbecue and cast a money vote for their favorite cooker," and the United Way benefits, City Solicitor Richard Pearce said. Sampling of the barbecue will start at 11:30 a.m.

This is the first time the Labor Day cook-off has been held. But it's not the first time barbecue has been used to help raise money for the nonprofit agency.

Aiken Public Safety officer "Eddie George would cook up fresh pork roast and folks would buy it and the proceeds would go to United Way," Mr. Pearce said.

The barbecue was so popular and so many people in public safety love to cook, the city attorney said, "we thought this would be kind of a way for everybody to contribute to United Way."

Cooks from public safety will be joined by their counterparts at the Aiken County Sheriff's Office, Aiken County government, the city and the business community.

"We'll see how it goes," he said. "It should be a lot of fun."

Tickets for samplings will be sold the day of the event. Each $1 ticket is redeemable for one sampling.

The event will be from 11:30 a.m. until 2 p.m. Monday at the Newberry Festival Center in downtown Aiken.