More Barbecue in Greenwood, SC

A part of the prize money is reserved for the people’s choice contest. Rather than certified judges picking the winners, the festival attendees are in charge. Photo: Laura Brown Photography, 2023 Festival of Discovery album on Facebook.

One of my favorite locations for judging barbecue contests sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbecue Society is Greenwood, SC. The city and its residents fully support this contest, known as the BBQ and Blues Festival of Discovery. It is the premier event sponsored by local development officials, and the music scene and other entertainment activities are amazing. 

Although blues music was playing at several venues during the festival, the big attraction was barbecue. Photo: Laura Brown Photography, 2023 Festival of Discovery album on Facebook.

Begun in 2000, the festival celebrates local history, culture, arts, crafts, music, and food — and barbecue takes over Main Street, the main thoroughfare of the city’s business community, throughout the weekend. 

Food vendors arrive early to prepare for the crowds. Photo: Laura Brown Photography, 2023 Festival of Discovery album on Facebook.

Cooking teams as well as mobile food vendors congregate on this main artery, which is closed for the weekend, as crowds stroll by to observe the cooking teams, enjoy good food available for sale, and listen to groups performing on several stages. 

The winning team was from Pennsylvania. Photo: Laura Brown Photography, 2023 Festival of Discovery album on Facebook.

This year 76 competition teams vied for $19,850 in prize money. Chunky BBQ of Harrisburg, Pa., was the runaway winner and took home the check for $3,000 for being the grand champion. In second place was QMeisters from Evans, Ga., which also easily outdistanced the other competitors. 

The turn-in table was well-staffed with volunteers from the city's Fire Rescue Department. Photo: Laura Brown Photography, 2023 Festival of Discovery album on Facebook.

At the table where I was a judge, we were impressed by all the entries that we sampled, particularly the pork ribs. One of the benefits of being a competition judge is to be able to bite into the best barbecue — whether it’s ribs, pork, chicken, or brisket. 

 

The sound of silence can be heard throughout the room as the judges concentrate on their tasks. Photo: Laura Brown Photography, 2023 Festival of Discovery album on Facebook.  

Although judges are prohibited by KCBS rules from taking pictures during an event when they are judging, evidently those rules don’t apply to the organizers. Several pictures of the judging activities are included in the album of photos taken by Laura Brown Photography for the festival that is on Facebook.

Greenwood is the only event where I've been photographed during judging (third from left). Photo: Laura Brown Photography, 2023 Festival of Discovery album on Facebook. 

This year’s event was the third time that I had judged in Greenwood. The other contests in 2019 and 2022 were equally well organized. Because the festival is such a premier event, it’s easy to understand why teams and judges want to be in Greenwood and participate in the cookoff.

Bubbles the Seahorse is one of the many topiaries that adorned the downtown area of Greenwood. Photo: Laura Brown Photography, 2023 Festival of Discovery album on Facebook.