Thousands of people turned out this past weekend for the Main Street BBQ and Bluesfest in Downtown Washington.
“Overall it went very, very well,” said Aimee Frey, event coordinator for Downtown Washington Inc., sponsor.
Frey said the crowds were down a little Friday night due to the weather, but Saturday’s turnout was “huge.”
“The People’s Choice tasting line was all the way back to the Main and Elm street fountain for over an hour, which is the first time that’s happened,” she said. “It was great to see so many people wanting to take part in the tasting.
“We got a lot of compliments on the bands again and the barbecue teams all had a great time,” she added.
Frey estimates about 6,000 people turned out over the two days.
“We already have several ideas on how to make next year, our fifth year, even better, too,” she said.
The festival featured a barbecue competition sanctioned by the Kansas City BBQ Society, live blues music and new this year, a washer tournament.
A total of 50 teams competed for top barbecue honors, and local team — B&B BBQ — won grand champion for the second year in a row after a blind judging. Another local team, Oink-A-Doodle-Moo, won People’s Choice.
The reserve grand champion was Lion Bout the Q, from Pittsfield, Ill.
The barbecue teams were set up along Main Street and the parking lot at Main and Cedar streets. Teams began cooking Friday night and continued through Saturday afternoon.
Prior to the awards ceremony Saturday, a special tasting event was open to the public.
A total of 63 certified judges selected the winners. Trophies, ribbons and cash prizes were awarded.
In addition to B&B BBQ and Oink-A-Doodle-Moo, other local teams competing were Shake ‘n’ Bake BBQ, Windswept BBQ, Code Blue BBQ, Blue Duck BBQ, BUB-BQ, Rub It Right BBQ and F-n-G BBQ.
