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| Ari the Lion is one of the distinctive topiaries in Greenwood. |
When barbecue is smoking on Main Street and the musicians at the center stage are playing the blues, Greenwood, SC, must be the scene. The city has played host to the
BBQ and Blues Festival of Discovery every July since it began in 2000 (except when canceled by the coronavirus pandemic).
BBQ and Blues Festival of Discovery
The festival has a lively street scene throughout the weekend as the region celebrates culture, history, food, arts, crafts, and music. The downtown area vibrates with the sounds of the blues as musicians perform on stages and at other restaurants. To recognize the region’s food traditions, a barbecue cookoff sanctioned by the
Kansas City Barbecue Society is also held. In addition, the festival holds
a separate contest for hash, a South Carolina specialty.
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| Blues music is continually played at several locations during the festival. |
Perhaps the total of $19,850 in prize money attracted so many cooking teams to compete—
92 teams vied for top honors. The prize money is the largest amount of any tournament that I’ve participated in recently and almost double that of the last event where I judged. Because so many teams were competing, about 100 judges were needed.
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| A long line of judges forms as they wait on the start time to sign in. |
A part of the prize money was reserved for the people’s choice contest. Rather than certified judges picking the winners, the festival attendees were in charge, and their tastebuds determined the best BBQ. More than 20 teams competed.
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| This team was ready to smoke its meats. |
Barbecue Cookoff Judging
The five other judges at the table where I was sitting were the most light-hearted group that I’ve been associated with. Perhaps being at a cookoff again after the pandemic has mostly ended has improved everyone’s spirits and the comradery is appreciated even more. In addition to South Carolina, these judges were from Georgia and Florida.
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| Judges mingle in the Arts Center before the judging activities begin. |
One of the big surprises at the table where I was judging is that we had to disqualify an entry for pork. At KCBS contests, one reason to disqualify an entry is “incorrect meat.” After we had judged ribs, the second category scored, we received entries for the next category, which is pork. To our amazement, in the box of one entry was … ribs. Although ribs are obviously from a hog, at a sanctioned contest they don’t constitute “pork,” which is defined as “Boston butt, Boston roast, picnic, collar (aka cellar), or whole shoulder.” How disappointing for the team because the ribs looked wonderful.
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| Teams set up along Main Street in downtown Greenwood. |
Later I learned that five entries had been disqualified – three ribs and two pork. I have observed disqualifications before, but five at one event is very surprising. However, some teams may have been participating in their first competitive event. Being disqualified has to be very upsetting for a team, but each contest is a learning experience.
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| The center stage is on Main Street among the cooking teams. |
Greenwood, SC, As Contest Venue
Greenwood continues to be a superior contest venue, and the city’s extensive support of the cookoff makes sure that everything happens on time and perfectly. After judging pork, the judges were treated to small servings of lemon sherbet to cleanse our palates. Such a simple touch is typical of the extra effort that the Greenwood organizers make.
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| Greenwood is a fun place to be during its festivals. |
The downtown area of Greenwood was adorned with 30 topiary displays. Although they were initially designed as the centerpiece attraction of the Festival of Flowers, an event held a month earlier, they still are still show-quality and are very much admired by the BBQ and Blues Festival attendees. My favorite is Barbie-Q the Pig, but so many others are also very creative.
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