Starting Another Year of Whole Hog Barbecue Contests in Goldsboro

Pig in the Park is one of the early events in the Whole Hog Barbecue Series sponsored by the N.C. Pork Council. The series leads to the selection of the Pitmaster of the Year as well as concludes at the state cookoff for contest winners to determine the Whole Hog Barbecue Champion at the end of each year.

Judging started at 8 o'clock. Photo by Goldsboro Daily News.

One of Goldsboro’s largest festivals, Pig in the Park is the biggest fundraiser for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Wayne County. The clubs serve more than 660 children with programs to achieve academic and leadership goals. In addition to the barbecue contest, the event includes a special “Kiss the Pig” contest (which itself raised more than $6,000), a kids’ zone, live entertainment, and vendors. Barbecue cooked by the competing pitmasters is also sold to the public, and, for the first time in the ten years of the event, all the barbecue was sold this year. The 4,000 festival-goers who attended could probably have eaten more.

Musical groups add to the festivities at Pig in the Park.

I enjoyed being a judge at the cookoff because it was held at picturesque Old Waynesborough Park where the former town of Waynesborough was located. It served as the initial county seat from 1787 until 1847, when the seat of government was moved to nearby Goldsboro that was growing as railroads expanded into the area. At the park are nine historic buildings such as a school, lawyer’s office, and Quaker Meeting House that were brought from other locations in Wayne County to replicate a village setting during the era that Waynesborough was thriving.

Old Waynesborough Park preserves the area where the former town of Waynesborough was located.

The park includes more than 150 acres along the Neuse and Little rivers and is a popular spot for canoeing, fishing, hiking, birding, and special events such as weddings. More than 150 species of birds have been identified at the park, which is a site on the North Carolina Birding Trail.

Pigs for the contest were provided by Goldsboro Milling Compay.

Trophies are ready for the award ceremony.

The pigs for the contest were provided by Goldsboro Milling Company, a festival sponsor that was founded in 1916 as a feed milling business and expanded over the decades into turkey, swine, and blueberry operations. The top three pitmasters, who qualify to advance and compete in the state championship in Raleigh this fall, were Richie Fulghum, first place; D.J. Stox, second; and Lewis McDonald, third. In addition to trophies, first place received $500; second place, $300; and third place, $200. A People’s Choice award, a new feature this year, and a cash prize of $150 were won by Big Belly’s Cooking Team, led by Robert Radford.

In April each year the park is known for the excellent barbecue prepared by some of the state’s top pitmasters. Pig in the Park is even more important for how it supports the children of Wayne County.

The gift to each judge was a contest cleaver.

Goldsboro, a City with a Celebrated Barbecue Heritage

Goldsboro, NC, is very proud of its barbecue heritage. It claims to be the home of “the best BBQ,” and its online visitor information brags about its prominence on the N.C. Historic Barbecue Trail. As a result, I’ve wanted to judge here since I was first certified.

Cooking teams set up in the grassy area near Cornerstone Commons in downtown Goldsboro.

However, as the county seat of Wayne County, Goldsboro is more important to me than for barbecue reasons because it’s also the home of my maternal ancestors. I’ve visited the county before to explore the rural areas north of the city where they lived. For this visit, nothing but barbecue was on my mind, and I enjoyed being a judge at the Beak Week Festival.

The stages for music during Beak Week includes several innovative approaches.

Although the festival was begun in 2014 to celebrate the county’s poultry industry, more than chicken is evaluated during the barbecue contest. Ribs, pork, and brisket are also cookoff categories to comply with the requirements of the Kansas City Barbeque Society, which sanctions the event.

Food and crafts vendors along Center Street are ready for the crowd on early Saturday morning.

Poultry is clearly important to the county, and a wing-eating contest, a bird-themed costume fun run, a “fowl play” softball game, and a week-long scavenger hunt for chicken and turkey cutouts in the downtown area add to the festival’s emphasis on poultry. However, the $20,000 in prize money is the main attraction for about 40 cooking teams to compete in the barbecue cookoff.

Judges meet in the gym of the Goldsboro Police Department.

Goldsboro’s reputation for hosting a superb barbecue contest grows each year. Even though the cookoff is part of a poultry festival, the crowd of more than 10,000 knows that barbecue encompasses much more than poultry, although in Wayne County, it’s an indispensable part.

Several photo opportunities are available during Beak Week, which celebrates the local poultry industry.