» Blue Ridge BBQ & Music Festival

Event Info
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A competition cooker keeping check on his food before official turn-in to the judges.

Hog Heaven!

The heart and the soul of the Blue Ridge Barbecue & Music Festival is where our competition cook teams set up their rigs to vie for prestige, cash prizes and awards in this, the North Carolina State Barbecue Championship. The top ranking team from North Carolina also wins the coveted Governor’s Trophy. Teams must compete in all four Kansas City Barbecue Society (KCBS) sanctioned categories; Chicken, Pork Ribs, Pork and Beef Brisket to be considered for Grand Champion. The judging for the main event is on Saturday afternoon and awards are announced in the late afternoon in the Open Air Gym area.

Judging is by KCBS certified judges and we use a double blind system to ensure a fair and equal contest. Although the smell of sweet and spicy smoke will make your mouth water in anticipation, there is no food sold to the public in the competition area—only in the infield area.

On Friday, the teams that wish may compete in our annual “Anything But” and “Dessert” events (Anything But refers to any entrees other than the four categories required in the Main event—chicken, pork ribs, pork and beef brisket). Celebrity judges (special friends of the Festival) are invited to participate under the direction of KCBS certified judges. These events take place in the Open Air Gym late Friday afternoon.

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Date & Time

May 2, 2014 - June 14, 2014
Festival hours 10:00am-11:00pm June 13th & 14th, 2014 Competition Info: June 12th--Check-in June 13th--Meat Inspection begins @ 8:30am --Cookers Meeting @ 3:00pm --Anything But turn-in @ 7:00pm --Dessert turn-in @ 7:30pm June 14th--Whole Hog @ 11:00am --Chicken @ 12:00pm --Ribs @ 12:30pm --Pork @ 1:00pm --Brisket @ 1:30pm