‘Bar-B-Q Block Party 2021’ will replace International Bar-B-Q Festival this year

March 2, 2021 | 12:02 am

Updated March 2, 2021 | 12:25 am

Bar-B-Q Block Party | Photo by AP Imagery

The International Bar-B-Q Festival board of directors has announced the “Bar-B-Q Block Party 2021” — a one-day event set to take place on May 8. This new event will take the place of the traditional Bar-B-Q Festival weekend and will comply with COVID-19 guidelines.

According to a media release, “While the Bar-B-Q Block Party will be a more scaled-down event, it will include some traditional Bar-B-Q Festival elements, such as the Backyard Cooking Competition presented by Kentucky Legend, in addition to barbecue from several of the local churches that traditionally participate in the festival.”

Downtown restaurants will be open, and 2nd Street will be closed to allow for ample outdoor seating and social distancing. In order to reduce crowd size, this year’s event will not include arts and crafts vendors, live music, the beer garden, carnival rides, or the World Mutton Eating Championship.

“The Bar-B-Q Festival Board realized that the typical festival weekend could not take place with the ongoing effort to combat the Covid virus,” said Allen Payne, Festival Board Chairman. “So, we decided to get back to the basics with a one-day event to celebrate the rich barbecue heritage in Owensboro.”

Tim Ross, the city’s Director of Public Events and Festival board member, said he’s glad there will be at least some semblance of the the sights and sounds the Festival typically brings to the second weekend in May in downtown Owensboro.

“I am thrilled with the creativity of the festival board to come up with the Block Party idea and still celebrate barbecue” he said. “This event will be a scaled-down version of the normal festival, but we are excited to be able to further support the local downtown restaurants who have struggled during the past year with the pandemic.”

For more information on the Bar-B-Q Block Party, visit bbqfest.com.

March 2, 2021 | 12:02 am

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