If your barbecue dirties hands and silences eaters, Kennesaw has a weekend in August for you.
Registration for the Pigs and Peaches BBQ Festival opened this week. Everyone from "experienced pitmasters and backyard amateurs" are welcome to enter, the city said.
And this isn't just some playtime smoke-filled hogwash of a time; this competition is sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbecue Society, which runs many of the country's largest competitions.
The city expects more than 65,000 people to show up to Adams Park, 2753 Watts Drive, between Aug. 25 and 26.
Pink-ring-producers will be judged on four proteins: chicken, brisket, pork ribs and pork butt. Here's the nitty-gritty on the rules.
The entry fee is $295 and comes with a 20-foot-by-27-foot outdoor cooking space, a 20-amp electrical connection, and access to drinkable water.
But should you succeed, you’ll win $16,000 in cash along with “artisan handcrafted pottery trophies and other valuable prizes.”
If that’s a bit too much smoke for your britches, there is an amateur event. It’ll be just chicken, pork ribs and pork butt. The $150 entry fee includes a similar set-up but a bit smaller.
There’s also the additional "Anything Butt" category and a peach dessert contest, each with a $30 entry fee.
And for those who’ve just begun their journey to barbecue enlightenment, there’s the “Kids' Que Cook-off” event, which has an entry of $35.
The contest is for children ages 7 to 15 and consists of two parts (both of which require an adult): A three-hour workshop on July 22 focusing on nutrition, food preparation and cooking techniques followed by the actual cook-off on the festival’s first day using a grill, charcoal and ground turkey.
If you’re real serious about the main event, you can call the city at 770-422-9714 for more space, extra amperage and the chance to be a vendor.
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