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Steamboat Springs — A barbecue dinner with live music and family-friendly activities to benefit a local mental health organization is from 3 to 7 p.m. today in Olympian Hall at Howelsen Hill Lodge.

Admission is free to the event, which benefits Reaching Everyone Preventing Suicide. A $10 dinner ticket includes half a chicken, beans, corn on the cob, choice of coleslaw or pasta salad, bread, dessert and a drink; all the food has been donated, said Ronna Autrey, suicide prevention coordinator at Steamboat Mental Health, who facilitates REPS.

"I came from southcentral Pennsylvania where this was really big in the summers," Autrey said. "We tried to make it an affordable event, and we felt like this was something families could come to and have a good time."

The event is also a chance to raise awareness and talk about suicide prevention, Autrey said. REPS is "a largely volunteer coalition of community members invested in stopping suicide in the Yampa Valley and support those who have lost a loved one through education and awareness," according to the group's Web site.

REPS member and volunteer Traci Cameron said today's barbecue will happen rain or shine, and will feature live music by Jesse Christensen, games, face painting, balloons and discounted tickets to The Howler Alpine Slide. Dinners will be served at the event and also are available in to-go containers for pickup.

About 25 items will be up for silent auction. A "balloon prize sell-off" allows participants to buy a balloon for $10 to $30 marked with the name of the restaurant, retailer or donor of a prize; buyers are guaranteed a prize from that donor of equal or greater value, Cameron said.

Proceeds from today's barbecue benefit REPS programs, including support groups, a loss assistance team and occasional free Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training sessions.

Bryce Mackie, a college student and documentary filmmaker who has experience with depression and suicide, will speak with local high school and college students this fall, Autrey said.

"He goes around the country speaking to college and high school kids about depression, getting help, getting treatment, that this is a disease and nothing to be ashamed of," Autrey said.