The 11th Annual Sammy’s International Meatball Festival in honor of the late Sam Pace was held at the Boys & Girls Club in Cathedral City

Restaurant owners, Cathedral City Police, Fire, and residents cooked their best meatball recipes for the 11th Annual Sammy's International Meatball Festival.

The CEO of the Boys and Girls Club of Cathedral City, Scott Robinson, says they wanted to keep the memory and legacy of Sam Pace alive even after his death. Pace died last year, but he was known for his International meatball festival and for giving back to local charities. Robinson says he especially gave back to the Boys and Girls Club of Cathedral City.

There was a rotation of judges, including Pace's wife, a representative from Congressman Raul Ruiz's office, and a variety of Cathedral City council members for three categories; Amateur, Professionals, and Municipals.

There were Swedish-style meatballs, pepper-flavored meatballs, grandma's red sauce meatballs, soup and meatballs, and more.

A woman in her 90s came and shared her powdered sugar cookie-style meatballs.

While people enjoyed tasting the meatballs, two live local bands played: One in the general room and one in the VIP room.

Most of the funds raised from the event will be used for youth programming. Representatives from the club say there is no small dollar amount.