Michigan BBQ Rib Contest Seeks Competitors

Novi, Michigan - Hot and tasty summer family fun is on the menu for the first annual West Oakland Rib Cook Off and Family Fest, Sunday August 9 at the Rock Financial Showplace, 46100 Grand River Ave in Novi , MI. The all day event will feature as many as fifty BBQ Rib teams, live music, local restaurant tastings, family activities including a furry creature petting zoo, and much more!

“Experience West Oakland ”, a committee of the Novi Chamber of Commerce, was recently granted a sanction from the Memphis Barbeque Network for their inaugural event, which will offer BBQ competitors the chance to compete for Prize Packages totaling $10,000. A panel of 40 professional and amateur judges will determine the contest results. The Grand Prize Winner will be invited to compete in the “ Memphis in May” Barbeque Network Finals, May 2010. More information on the sanctioning body can be found at www.MBNBBQ.com

Registration information for interested contestants can be found at www.experiencewo.com

For more information, please call 248.486.3424.

Carolina Rib King

I took this picture while visiting the Rib King, of Carolina Rib King bbq sauce fame, at the St. Pete Rib Fest today. This ribmaster was "finishing" stacks of about 20 racks of ribs by setting the sauce on a propane grill (Belson I think) prior to serving to hungry festival patrons.

BBQ Rib Festival - St. Pete Ribfest

All the way from Australia. The Australian BBQ Team was on hand to show-off their talents and the Australian way to 'que. The team captain, Paul McKay, cooking as the Australian BBQ Team sells the Aussom Aussie line of bbq sauces.

I liked the name "Fat Fred's" the best. I know for sure I would never trust a "Skinny Fred" who sells bbq.

Signage announcing their wins and honors was prevalent at almost every cook team site.

Here's a picture of the grills used to warm up the ribs just prior to serving at the Blazin' Bronco BBQ & Rib Company. All the ribs appeared to be pre-cooked and then sauced and reheated as they were sold later in the day. Double click the picture and take a closer look at the stack of ribs on the table in the rear of this picture. There must have been at least 100 racks of ribs covered in plastic ready for reheating.

Blazin' Bronco BBQ & Rib Company was the most popular team at the event. At one point I counted a line of more than 50 people waiting in line at their booth.

All the way from Spartunburg, S.C., the Rib King was in attendance. The proprietor, Solomon Williams, sells Carolina Rib Sauce at specialty stores throughout the country.

Here's a picture of Boss Hogg's display booth.

A picture of the bbq mid-way at 11 a.m. when things were just cranking up. Later on this alley was a mass of people waiting in line for some barbecue. Prices for ribs ranged from $20 for a full rack, $14 for a half-rack, and $9 for a one-third rack.

Banners, banners, and more banner at the Bibbs & Ribs booth. We had some ribs from this team, which were pretty good overall. The sauce was especially good.

This 1952 Ford long bed truck caught our eye. This F-6 model is a 2-ton with 14,000 GVWR.

Sarasota Ribfest

Linda and I attended the ribfest in Sarasota yesterday and learned a lot about how not to organize a bbq festival.

It was the first "ribfest" we've attended in person and we were excited about the experience. The ones I've read about and seen on television were boisterous affairs and well promoted with large crowds of spectators. Unfortunately, we left festival sorely dissapointed.

The event was held at the old Sarasota fairgrounds and admission was $7 per person. We paid our money and entered the event. They only had three vendors cooking bbq to go along with a beverage vendor, a hot tub distributor, and someone giving camel rides. The bbq was terrible, but you could eat it in an air conditioned building while listening to live entertainment.

Competition BBQ Secrets

We watched many, many dissapointed faces enter the event, hopeful for a real "ribfest", but almost angry to find a hodge podge festival that appeared "slapped" together at the last minute.

Next year, if there is another year for this event, they need to add 10-15 more rib vendors and promote the event better on television, in the newspaper, and on radio. It was so poorly attended that at one point I counted more police at the event than people eating bbq.

I applaud the air conditioned facility, but give a big thumbs down for the event overall. We should have saved the $35 we spent at the event and $25 we spent for gasoline and stayed home.