(photo illustration/MetroCreative)
RIPLEY – The public is invited to attend the second annual West Virginia BBQ on April 21-22, a family-friendly event at the Jackson County Fairgrounds.
Hosted by the Jackson County Hunting Heroes and endorsed by the Kansas City BBQ Society, the event’s slogan is “It’s open season on meat.” Governor Jim Justice declared the festival’s pro cooking and backyard classes the KCBS West Virginia State Championship.
The event is free and open to the public, but tasting tickets will be available to try four regional styles of pork barbecue for $10 each, and JCHH will accept donations on site. All proceeds will go to Jackson County Hunting Heroes’ future programming efforts that support and mentor military veterans and their families.
A full schedule of events can be found online at “http://www.wvbbqthrowdown.com” > www.wvbbqthrowdown.com. In addition to the barbecue cook-off, other activities include barbecue tastings, food vendors, artisans, children’s activities, bands, a petting zoo, community dance and a screening of the Babe” movie — but none of the characters will be part of the cookoff, added Andrea Paul, festival event planner.
Friday Nights offer Family Fun Night events starting at 5:30. She said. “We hope people will go out and buy picnic dinners from the vendors, set up for a community dance with a DJ and bring the kids and a blanket to see the movie and their lawn chair. Saturday events will include regional barbecue tastings, craft vendors, face painting, and live music in the afternoon, And I think we’ll even have a mini zoo on site.”
Some activities have a fee, like Saturday’s regional barbecue tastings, which are $10 a ticket but free for veterans. The tasting includes samples of pork cooked in four distinct regional styles: North Carolina, Memphis, Kansas City, and Texas.
“We appreciate the great community support for this event in 2024, and I know they will be back to help honor veterans again,” said Rev. Frank Miller, who volunteers with the Jackson County Hunting Champions. “Moving the event out of the Ripley Courthouse lawn was a difficult decision for JCHH, but the added event space at the fairgrounds allowed us to expand the capacity of our barbecue team and add many additional activities.”
Grill Cook Team recordings are available at www.wvbbqthrowdown.com.
The event is also looking for KCBS-certified volunteers and grill judges.
The event offers more than just barbecue bragging rights, as the prize pool is over $7,500. If more than 25 teams compete, this will include a showcase of the National BBQ Cookoff. More details and contest rules for the KCBS BBQ Cookoff, tasting event, or general festival information are available on the website or by following the festival on Facebook.
The Jackson County Hunting Heroes seeks to improve the quality of life for United States Veterans through fellowship, education, support, and outdoor recreation. The group began in December 2013 in Ripley with a dedicated group with a desire to help fellow service members recover and honor their wartime service through time in nature.