Polar Pig BBQ Cookoff, held last year in Mt. Pleasant, NC, successfully started a new fall
tradition of barbecue competition in an area northeast of Charlotte. To give
the event more space, the new organizers moved the contest five miles from the
original site to the spacious property of the Cabarrus Arena and Events Center
in Concord.
Even as the center was hosting a
cheerleading competition and a gun show in other facilities on the same day, it
was a better location than being behind the Mt. Pleasant Town Hall and provided
more than adequate space for the contest. In the inaugural event, 25 teams
competed. With the additional space of the new venue, the organizers
accommodated almost twice that many – 47 teams cooked this year.
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| Trophies await the winners of the Polar Pig BBQ competition. |
Because the event is held on the
second Saturday in November, teams interested in earning points in the final
weeks of the year’s competition conducted by Kansas City Barbeque Society were
eager to participate. The overall winner and grand champion was perennial
favorite Redneck Scientific, which last year placed second and won reserve
champion honors.
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| Judges assemble before the competition begins. |
Having the contest at the Cabarrus Arena and Events Center brought out a larger crowd than had attended at the
inaugural event. In addition to observing the contest participants, the crowd
could enjoy a zone of vendor tents, a beer garden, live music, and a kid’s play
area. This year, the event also included a people’s choice award, and
spectators could taste samples prepared by cooking teams.
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| Cooking teams set up inside the track of the 11-acre midway of the Cabarrus Arena and Events Center. |
