Cherry Creek store grills its Ace off

In one of the more colorfully named fundraising traditions in all of hardware, a cook out in Colorado raised money for kids. 

The 4th annual Grill Your Ace Off outdoor cooking competition was held at Cherry Creek Ace Hardware in Denver on June 9. Fifteen teams competed for the grand prize, a Big Green Egg ceramic charcoal cooker and bragging rights for the next year.

Cherry Creek Ace Hardware is owned by Andy Carlson of Denver.

Each year, the event is hosted by a Colorado Ace Hardware retailer as a fundraiser for Children's Miracle Network and Children's Hospital Colorado. With proceeds from this event, it's estimated that Rocky Mountain Ace Hardware store owners have donated more than $50,000 to Children's Miracle Network so far in 2012.

As for the actual competition, the "Smoke & Spice" team took home the grand prize for their chicken sushi, Korean short ribs and Banh Mi sliders. A team called “Plumb Crazy Smoke" took home the People's Choice award for their barbecue ribs.