25th Year Lexington, NC Barbecue Festival
Celebrate North Carolina BBQ and All the Trimmings in October
Sep 25, 2008
It is hard to believe how a small town Barbecue Festival has grown in a quarter of a century. Actually, the Lexington, NC BBQ Festival drew 30,000 guests the first year, and the population of the sleep little Southern town is just a little over 20,000 even today. Festival planners expect a record 100,000 barbecue fans this year for the 25th anniversary.
What to Expect From the Lexington Festival?
“The Barbecue Festival” (which is what its called by the locals – no need to say anything more, since it’s such a big local deal) is a small town street party. It is not a barbecue cook-off of competition. Competitions are fun too, but the Lexington Que Festival is just about enjoying good old Southern food and fun.
It’s a full day of barbecue and other street vendor foods, arts/crafts booths, games for the kids, and all kinds of entertainment ranging from country music star Lee Ann Womack to Chairmen of the Board and the Trinity Quartet. They also have puppet shows and magic shows for the kids (and young at heart).
North Carolina Barbecue
Lexington is known for Barbecue. There are signs across the state saying “Lexington-style BBQ,” but the only real Lexington barbecue is in Lexington, NC.
There are a number of terrific barbecue joints scattered throughout Lexington and all excellent, but for the festival, they all work together and make a special festival sandwich and slaw.
Lexington barbecue is chopped pork with a vinegar based barbecue sauce usually served on a bun as at the festival. The barbecue sandwich is topped with a lightly spicy Carolina red slaw.
Other Foods at the Barbecue Festival
If you’re not a barbecue fan (sigh), you can find loads of other festival foods like curly tail fries, blooming onions, fried apple pies, corn on the cob and most other foods you’d see at county fairs. You could eat like a pig all day and not get to everything.
There are also booths with “take home” foods like cheese ball mixes, fried pork skins, homemade yeast breads, muffins, and jams/jellies.
For those who enjoy trying out new hot sauces, there are always a lot of small booths with homemade barbecue rubs and sauces. Most offer samples, so you can check out all kinds of unique BBQ rubs/sauces.
Do Your Christmas Shopping Early.
If you enjoy shopping for unique holiday gifts, there are always a lot of artists and craftsmen at the Lexington Barbecue Festival. They have items like holiday ties, birdhouses, wind chimes and PVC pipe marshmallow shooters. The Tin Can Man always shows up with his cute airplanes made of aluminum cans. He even makes some while festival visitors watch.
Yes! Lexington Puts on a Great Festival - One of the Best
The Southeast Tourism Society ranks the Lexington festival as one of the top ten in the southeast and on a regular basis. USA Today and Travel & Leisure magazine both noted the Barbecue Festival as a top notch day of fun. Lexington’s big day of fun is even listed in the book 1000 Places to See in the U.S.A. and Canada Before You Die. Of course, it’s so much fun, you’ll want to stick around, so you can go year after year.
Check an update on the 26th annual Barbecue Festival which is scheduled for October 24, 2009.
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