Polar Pig BBQ Cookoff Grows in a New Location

The inaugural 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.

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. 

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.

Cooking teams set up inside the track of the 11-acre midway of the Cabarrus Arena and Events Center.

The future for the Polar Pig BBQ Cookoff looks promising. The significant improvements in event planning and the major increase in the number of cooking teams are encouraging signs that the competition will be even better in 2018. I hope to return again next year.