The Bar-B-Q Fest isn’t ending, former Chair of the festival Sharon Nesmith said. It’s being reborn as they add historic bourbon to the mix for the May 12 and 13 downtown festival.
Visit Owensboro announced at Rooster Booster Thursday morning that they hope to connect Owensboro’s bourbon roots with the longstanding festival that they are now calling BBQ and Barrels.
The festival will still kick off Mother’s Day weekend at noon on May 12 with barbecue from the church cooking teams and food vendors and festival rides music and craft vendors throughout.
The festival picks up in the morning with the addition of a BBQ 5K hosted by the YMCA, Backyard BBQ Cookoff and bourbon-tasting events at the Owensboro Convention Center. The Convention Center will be hosting ticketed bourbon events with several distilleries offering bourbon and cocktail samples.
Tickets for the events will go on sale on March 1.
Nesmith said that more options will be sure to attract more people.
Visit Owensboro Destination Management Dave Kirk said that they hope to invite as many parishes as possible to continue the longstanding tradition of barbecue competitions.
“Owensboro deserves a bourbon expo and this element of BBQ and Barrels is exactly what is being brought to the table. We look forward to announcing participating distilleries in the near future. Bourbon tourism is exploding in the commonwealth and we can’t wait to see what this event does for our place along the bourbon trail,” Kirk said.
For more information on the event, head here.
