GOOD NEWS (1/28/10 update to the original post, which is below): The Blue Ridge Barbecue Festival will be held this year after all! See details here.
If you hear squeals coming from the western part of North Carolina, they might be the sound of the Blue Ridge Barbecue Festival dying. The event, which has been held annually in Tryon, NC since 1994, may soon be no more.
According to the Asheville Citizen-Times, the Carolina Foothills Chamber of Commerce recently announced their plans to let the festival they organize disappear like the fat off a slow-cooked pork shoulder. Ironically, it seems that part of the festival’s problem is that it became too successful over the years. The festival requires countless hours of planning, hundreds of volunteers and a nearly $300,000 budget.
There are some ongoing attempts to save the festival, but no savior has appeared yet. Have a couple hundred thousand bucks to lend to the cause? This could be the opportunity of a lifetime. As shaky as the economy is right now, investing in pork might be a good move…
Filed under: Hog Happenings | Tagged: Polk County, Signs of aporkalypse, Tryon |
BBQ Jew 
What the hey?! Combine it with the bread festival. If western NC can have the livermush festival, they should be able to have a bbq fest and find someone who can manage a budget to cut costs without cutting the project out.