Smokin' on the River BBQ Festival 6/19-20

Foodies,

I have been asked by the promoter to help get the word out on this event.

On June 19th and 20th The City of Jeffersonville, Riverstage (and others) will sponsor the "Smokin' on the River" State BBQ competition. The event is sanctioned by the Kansas City BBQ Society and will determine the Indiana State BBQ Champion. Perhaps of particular interest to forum-byters will be a "Backyard BBQ" division which will "pit" up to 25 grill mechanics in a match up that will determine who's backyard BBQ reigns supreme.

If you've ever had the desire to test the waters of competition BBQ (without a big investment) or if you just want to prove to that no good brother-in-law (once and for all) who has the best backyard "Q" then this could be your chance. For the modest entry fee of $25 and (if you don't already have one) the price of an inexpensive Smoker (less than $50) this is your chance to "Throw Down" for the title of best backyard BBQ guru. In addition to the backyard division there will also be a "Kidz Q" division open to the younger meat aficionados as well as the Championship division which will see teams compete for a $7000 dollar purse and the right to call themselves "State Champs" (entry fee $250).

In addition to the BBQ festivities the Riverstage will host two days/nights of music provided by: Da Mudcats (Blues), V-Groove (Blues/Funk), The Travelin' Mojos (Blues), Walter Lay (Blues), Lamont Gillispie (Blues) and Marilyn Kington (Blues). There will be BBQ vending on site and a beer tent for those 21 and older will be available.

More information on this celebration (and contact info) can be found on website:

http://smokinontheriver-jeff-in.com/index.php

our own "memphis in may" in our own backyard.

Yes, exciting isn't it

Becky and I will be cooking in the championship division with our merry band "The Rolling Bones". Since Mick and the boys won't be able to join us on this one, we are hoping to soon announce confirmation of a couple of guest performers. Stay tuned.

Sure hope there will be some Forum-byters take up the challenge in the backyard division...or championship division for that matter. It's a heck of an opportunity for a "Throw Down" between folks who think they have what it takes when it comes to good BBQ.

Beer, Blues and BBQ now THERE is a pairing ANYONE can get behind.

Steve,

I thought the Indiana state champion was decided at the Madison Ribberfest on August 21st.

I guess it must move around now. Anyway, you should check into entering the Ribberfest contest. We always have a nice up there. It's a nice location, under the trees, on the riverfront.

Good Luck.

Here it is:

http://www.madisonribberfest.com/

Steve,

I thought the Indiana state champion was decided at the Madison Ribberfest on August 21st.

I guess it must move around now. Anyway, you should check into entering the Ribberfest contest. We always have a nice up there. It's a nice location, under the trees, on the riverfront.

Good Luck.

I noticed that as well. It appears that several states have multiple championships...not sure what the deal is.

We were going to cook Madison (even did a "recon" trip up there) then we realized we'll be in Bristol for the Sprint Cup race that weekend.

We were going to cook Madison (even did a "recon" trip up there) then we realized we'll be in Bristol for the Sprint Cup race that weekend.

So will I, we'll be camping at the Landings. Maybe a friendly little NASCAR campsite BBQ contest of our own, huh?

Read the FAQ at both of those sites, cannot find the answer to a simple question: Do the non-participating attendees (those of us just visiting) get to sample food from the competitors? I went to a thing like this years ago at Churchill and you could pay to purchase Que from the competitors, but there were no free samples unlike other BBQ shows I have attended. Ideally I want to sample before I buy.

Read the FAQ at both of those sites, cannot find the answer to a simple question: Do the non-participating attendees (those of us just visiting) get to sample food from the competitors? I went to a thing like this years ago at Churchill and you could pay to purchase Que from the competitors, but there were no free samples unlike other BBQ shows I have attended. Ideally I want to sample before I buy.

Brian,

Definitely No....and definitely yes.

No..."Competitors" are -not- permitted to give out samples to the "general public" during the course of the competition (just team members and "friends"). This is a KCBS rule and one I've been assured will be in place at Jeffersonville. Violating this rule results in disqualification. It's a "lawyer thang" I'm sure.

Yes...SOME "Competitors" (generally the folks who own restaurants or do catering on the side and thus are interested in promoting their "product") pay an extra "fee" to the promoter in order to cook/sell/serve BBQ to the general public. The BBQ served by these vendors will usually be (more or less) the same BBQ the judges taste/evaluate BUT the vendor will usually have a separate booth set up for this purpose. To further muddy the waters you may have a person (restaurateur or caterer) that is NOT part of the competition pay the promoter a fee to set up a booth and serve BBQ.

In the case of the Jeffersonville competition I have been told that there WILL in fact be folks there selling BBQ. Above and beyond that I have no idea at this point who that might be.

<wink>...<hint>...Now all of that being said there is a narrow window between the last meat turn in (around 1pm on Saturday) and the award ceremony (around 4pm on Saturday) when SOME teams are sitting around with their thumbs up their b*** and a lot of meat leftover from the competition (we generally cook 3-4 times what we need, just looking for that "perfect" rib)...NOT saying this would be the case in Jeffersonville but I have seen plenty of teams over the years place a a big platter of ribs on the table and discretely turn their backs. I'm not advocating this one way or the other, just telling you what I've observed.

Bottom line, it's a great time and I'm sure you will be able to get that BBQ "fix" you'll be craving. The music ain't a bad thing either.

This sounds great, two of my favorite things BBQ and Blues!

Best of luck to you Steve. This looks like a lot of fun, and I'll try to make it out.

I also couldn't help but notice that they listed a "beer garden" on the website, but I am a bit trepidatious of the lack of information on the brews. Maybe the lack of megabrewery sponsorship means that they will focus on craft beers. At the same time though, the lack of local brewery sponsorship might mean we're in for a lot of skunked lagers. If anyone knows anything about it, let me know.

Best of luck to you Steve. This looks like a lot of fun, and I'll try to make it out.

I also couldn't help but notice that they listed a "beer garden" on the website, but I am a bit trepidatious of the lack of information on the brews. Maybe the lack of megabrewery sponsorship means that they will focus on craft beers. At the same time though, the lack of local brewery sponsorship might mean we're in for a lot of skunked lagers. If anyone knows anything about it, let me know.

Mick,

I honestly have no idea...but will see what I can find out in the coming days. I got the impression talking to the organizer that they do not intend for this to be a "one off" event...So who knows, even if they're just serving "fizzy water" this year...there might be hope for the future.

We were going to cook Madison (even did a "recon" trip up there) then we realized we'll be in Bristol for the Sprint Cup race that weekend.

So will I, we'll be camping at the Landings. Maybe a friendly little NASCAR campsite BBQ contest of our own, huh?

David,

Sent you a P.M.

Did anyone go to this today? We were thinking about going tomorrow. I love bbq!

Did anyone go to this today? We were thinking about going tomorrow. I love bbq!

We had to withdraw from the contest due to a family emergency. I haven't heard anything from the front lines other than it's hot. That being said, I'd still suggest this as a "go to" event for the weekend. The music should be awesome and they are having some BBQ vending (NOTE: Competition teams can NOT serve BBQ to the general public).

If you like long lines, crappy beer & BBQ, and horrible music head to the BBQ festival in Jeff.

This is possibly the most piss poor event I have attended.

Wait in line for 5 minutes for food/beer tickets.

Wait in another line for 15-20 minutes for crappy BBQ.

Wait in another line for 5 minutes for a Miller Lite.

I would avoid this event at all costs. The entire event is a cluster. There are 3 lines to by drink/food ticket, vendors can't accept cash. There is ONE BBQ vendor. ONE! What kind of BBQ festival has one BBQ vendor? There is (1)ice cream, (1)corn dog/hamburger, and (1) funnel cake vendor for other "food" options.

The "beer garden" is ONE guy pouring Miller Lite and one lady taking beer tickets in a fenced off area.

This place is a joke.