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 For organizers, the change is not a ‘break up’ but rather an
expansion. The expansion has two primary components. The first goal
is to “expand” a one time a year event into something that draws
visitors to Lincoln throughout the summer. When this was first
discussed in 2014, local businessman and airport event coordinator
for the Balloon Festival, Patrick Doolin, noted what he wanted to
see. Doolin said that he wanted Lincoln to be the place where there
was always something going on. He wanted folks who were looking for
a weekend getaway to think; “we can go to Lincoln. There is always
something to do in Lincoln.”
The second goal is to take each major component of the old festival,
make it more of a stand-alone event, then grow it again by adding
new activities and attractions.
This weekend, the new Pigs & Swigs event will encompass a few
components of the old festival - the Up in Smoke Barbecue
competition, - the Oasis Flea and Craft Market, - and the
Railsplitter Antique Auto Club Car Show and will add some new
components.
Added to the old will be the new Craft Beer event and the Taste of
Logan County local agricultural products showcase. The Taste of
Logan County, sponsored by the Logan County Farm Bureau, premiered
last year as a stand-alone event with great success. This year it
will round out the weekend on Sunday when local producers showcase
products that are produced in Logan County. The event will be paired
with the Auto Show and is expected to bring in as many, if not more
visitors than last year.
Those traveling in the downtown area should expect there to be
street closures starting on Thursday evening as the food vendors
arrive and get set up for the weekend. It is expected that some of
the Kansas City Barbecue Society competitors will also arrive
Thursday evening, and there will be an early registration between 6
p.m. and 9 p.m. for those early birds.
The weekend will officially begin on Friday with barbecue competitor
registration starting at 8 a.m. and running until 4:45 p.m.
On Friday evening the first competition - Anything Goes - will take
place in the Arcade area on the south side of the Lincoln square.
This has in the past been a great event that allows KCBS competitors
to showcase their artistic talents with food. Judging will take
place at the Arcade, and the winners will be announced at 9 p.m. The
display area will be open to the public and visitors are encouraged
to come down and see the masterpieces that will be created. The
event does have some requirements for the competitors. Their dishes
must feature barbecue of course, but it must also incorporate the
signature fruit of Lincoln, watermelon.
In the past, this event has been held at the Lincoln Fire Station,
and last year it was in the wine tent on Broadway Street. Logan
County Alliance Event Coordinator Cara Barr said the decision to
change the location was made in order to open the area up and allow
spectators to have a better opportunity to see the finished
products.
 On Friday evening, there will also be a cook’s dinner for the
competitors. The event will be catered by Guzzardo’s of Lincoln.
On Saturday, the KCBS competition will get underway, as well as the
Backyard Barbecue competition; and a new competition, the KidsQ.
The KidsQ will take place on the north side of Scully Park near the
main entrance. The competition will be open to two age levels; seven
to 11-year-olds, and 12 to 15-year-olds. Barr said last week that
there were currently four competitors signed up in each age bracket.
Each entrant will be given a free grill to keep courtesy of Royal
Oak Charcoal. The cooks’ final product will also be judged, and a
winner will be announced at the Saturday evening awards program at 5
p.m.
Chris Graue of the BBQ committee said recently that the KidsQ will
operate ‘loosely’ under KCBS rules. Each entry will be provided one
pound of ground beef and a container for submitting their entry. The
competitors may bring any seasonings they wish, condiments, and
garnishes to use in their submission. They may cook any dish they
like, but it must fit inside the container provided.
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The KidsQ competition will commence at 1:30 p.m. and submissions are due to the
judges at 2:30 p.m. with a 10 minute window where submissions will be accepted
between 2:25 and 2:35 p.m.
The Backyard BBQ is a returning event designed for local competitors. The
competition will be held on South Kickapoo Street between Pulaski and Clinton
Streets. As in the past, this is a great event for those who love to BBQ, and
want the opportunity to see how well their cooking stacks up against their
friends and neighbors. This event was designed to draw local cooks into the
weekend, and in the past has been very successful. Again, during the cooking,
visitors can walk the area and watch and root for their favorite competitors.
The backyard competition has two classes; Chicken, and Ribs. Turn in times for
the entries will be 2 p.m. for the chicken and 2:30 p.m. for ribs.
The official KCBS competition is the Up in Smoke competition. As of last week,
there were approximately 40 competitors signed up to attend. The staging area
for these competitors will be Broadway between Kickapoo and North McLean Street,
North McLean between Broadway and Pulaski, and Pulaski Street from west of
Kickapoo eastward to Hamilton Street.
For the KCBS, most of the cooking will start on Friday night or in the wee hours
of Saturday morning. Turn-in times will begin with chicken at noon, ribs at
12:30 p.m., pork butt at 1 p.m., and brisket at 1:30 p.m.
Of course with all these foods on the grill on Saturday visitors are going to be
tempted to grab a bite. According to KCBS rules, competitors do not provide
samples or sell food during a competition. But not to worry, there will be
plenty of food available.
At the intersection of Kickapoo and Pulaski Streets (the corner nearest the
movie theater), there will be a food court with six vendors offering a variety
of products. Barr said in selecting the vendors, the BBQ committee invited three
vendors to attend and the LCA invited three.
Barbecue vendors will include Dixie-Cue, Country Fryers, and 17th Street BBQ
owned by renowned barbecue guru Mike Mills. Also on hand Culler’s Fries, and
Roger and Pat Bay Walleye. New this year is a dessert vendor, Tastefully Twisted
will serve ice cream desserts. Barr said that with these vendors diners will
have options between BBQ, turkey legs, walleye, corn dogs; and of course, the
ice cream desserts; so there will be hopefully something there for everyone.
There will be festival booklets available for visitors to assure they get to see
everything offered. Barr said the booklets are available at several local
businesses, plus the Logan County Tourism Bureau will have an information
station set up at the festival and will have programs available there as well.
The “Pigs” portion of Pigs and Swigs weekend is only one component of the
festival. In the coming articles LDN will outline the events that comprise the
“Swigs” portion, as well as offer an overview of the Oasis Craft and Flea
Market, the Railsplitter Auto Show, and the Taste of Logan County.
[Nila Smith]
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