Bourbon BBQ Festival Sizzles
Parking on Pine Street is an impossibility. Cars are turning up Cedar Street and parking along the railroad tracks. Pedestrians march on the sidewalks towards Elm Street, a quarter-mile walk to find the sprawling, jam-packed Bourbon BBQ Festival in its full glory.
The sixth edition of the Bourbon Economic Development Group’s ode to smoked meats was its biggest yet.
Yes, the highlight is smoked chicken, ribs and pork, but it was only part of this grandiose Saturday afternoon in downtown Bourbon.
BED maxed out its vendor space — with 100 vendors selling everything from crafts, drinks and even more food.
The parking lot of the community center was a maze of tents. The community center itself was full of even more vendors.
A person could kill a couple of hours meandering through the assortment of vendors without even stepping across the street to find the barbeque competitors.
Thirteen teams competed in this year’s event, one coming as far as Cabot, Arkansas. Massive smokers are set up on the lawn of Festival Park. The pitmasters huddle around the smokers, basting their meats, checking temperatures and layering on the seasonings.
These teams are taking it serious, and with $4,500 in prize money to be awarded, why not? While people ramble past the tents, the pitmasters are carefully eyeing their plates that will be turned into the judges in about three hours.
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It is hard to stress just how big this festival has gotten since the inaugural event in 2017. BED was in the early planning stages, still figuring it out. There were a few teams, a couple of vendors and a lot of rain.
COVID-19 forced a cancellation in 2020 and the festival was aborted in 2022, but last year was a big step forward and this year’s edition was the culmination of careful planning, exhaustive networking with vendors and an army of 30 volunteers that elevated Bourbon from the minors to the majors.
BED Chairman Chuck Ray said they surveyed some of the contestants and vendors for feedback and all were positive.
“They were very pleased and would like to return,” Ray said.
Ray said there were other community groups that witnessed the event’s success and are reaching out to consult for their own programs.
At the end of the day, success is measured by how they are impacting Bourbon’s economy and Saturday met the mark.
“Our businesses received more customers and some of our camping resorts picked up additional guests,” Ray said. “We were getting calls three weeks ago from people staying at resorts who were inquiring about the food and activities. We even had international guests traveling Route 66.”
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Not everyone likes barbeque, which wasn’t a problem for those in attendance. There is no shortage of carbs, fats or sugars. One of the vendor tents is staffed with two kids in 1950s diner uniforms taking orders of nachos. There’s fudge, cookie dough and other sweets. Uncle Charlie’s Concessions is dishing out deep fried everything. There did not appear to be limits to what this food truck would batter and throw in the fryer, and that’s not a bad thing.
A sign says “DEEP FRYED COFFEE.” One of the two people — Uncle Charlie maybe? — hands over a paper plate with three piping hot balls of fried dough covered in powdered sugar. On the inside, the dough is tinged with the color of coffee. It is a wholly delectable treat and well worth the $5. It will require more laps around the festival to work off the calories and cholesterol.
Nearby, a man is standing in line at Uncle Charlie’s Concessions while holding up a Bloomin’ Onion that is as big as his head. Between the two of us, we’re probably consuming 5,000 calories in deep fried caffeine and onion.
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We can all eat our vegetables another day. The Bourbon BBQ Festival is a celebration of indulgence and community. It was made possible by generous sponsorships from the area’s businesses and organizations. Old Road Craft Spirts and Imperial (formerly known as Paramount Apparel) kicked in $1,000, while 14 other businesses/organizations threw in between $250 and $100.
American Legion Post 81 donated a grill that was used at the People’s Choice station, which was a winner chosen by those who had purchased a $15 ticket to sample pulled pork from each barbeque competitor.
Liberator Rocket Heater manufactured all the trophies that were handed out to the winners.
It was the community coming together, Ray said, that made the festival’s success possible.