A fierce battle with East against West has been ongoing for decades, but it seems the East is taking the lead right here in Lenoir County.
Kinston’s Hog Happenin’ cook-off is purported to be the largest barbecue competition in the state — beating out the western tomato-based competitions by a few boar bristles.
The cook-off is the highlight of the four-day 32nd annual BBQ Festival on the Neuse, which will start Wednesday and features 80 barbecue teams competing on Saturday.
“We are busting at the seams,” said Tammy Kelly, chairwoman of the cook-off. “If we keep the number at 80, that would make us the largest whole hog barbecue cook-off.”
The event is sponsored by the Kinston-Lenoir County Chamber of Commerce and sanctioned by the N.C. Pork Council.
Jan Parson, director of the festival and special projects and events with the Chamber, said she expects about 25,000 people to attend this weekend and hopes the hotels will be filled.
“It’s important to have a signature event,” Parson said. “Also, people identify Kinston with hospitality.”
That hospitality doesn’t include the acceptance of Western N.C. barbecue, according to Lenoir County Manager Tony Sears, who called the sugary red western sauce anywhere beyond Chatham County “shameful.”
“Eastern North Carolina barbecue is made with vinegar and a kick,” he said, naysaying the “communist propaganda” that the famous Lexington barbecue is better.
Jeff Yourdon, program chairman for Lenoir Community College’s culinary arts program and a native of upstate New York, said he had to thin out his tomato-based sauce over the years at the festival competition because he just wasn’t winning.
“In the cooking part,” he said, “if I placed in the middle, that’s first place for me.”
Frank Gregg of Newport, on the other hand, is a regular winner at competitions around the state, and so is his daughter Taylor. He won first place in Kinston last year and equates his success with “trial and error,” and, of course, it’s Eastern-style barbecue.
The festival will have several new events this year, including the Sauce Boss competition, wine garden, Teen Nation Tour 2013, arts and crafts market, Inners rides and a third stage on Herritage Street near Blount Street.
“This event is going to be bigger, better and greater than years past,” said Laura Lee Sylvester, executive director of the Chamber, “because we have many more activities added to the schedule.”
The Sauce Boss, sponsored by Our State magazine, has already attracted 23 applicants. Festival-goers can sample the sauces and vote for their favorites by purchasing a $5 wristband.
The sauce competition is named in memory of Jim Ferrell of Newport, also known as the Boss Hog, who passed away recently, Kelly said.
“We thought this would be a cool way to honor him,” Sylvester said. “I mean, he really has done a lot for our contest.”
Samuel Jones of Ayden’s Skylight Inn will be pit-cooking a farm-raised pig to be sampled with the competition sauces.
“That sauce competition,” Kinston Mayor B.J. Murphy said, “should bring out the egos and the spoons.”
Six North Carolina wineries will be selling samples of their products by the glass behind the Red Room on North Street.
The Teen Nation Tour will feature seven teen recording artists, including Tristan Blaine and Riley Roth, who will be promoting anti-bullying through music on Saturday. Teen Nation can be found on Facebook.
The arts and crafts market will be open Friday and Saturday at 118 W. Blount St., featuring artisans from across the state on Friday and Saturday. The Community Council for the Arts will have a table set up as the official site for festival poster sales. Plein air paintings and artwork created by individuals from Caswell Developmental Center will be available for purchase.
A documentary film produced by Cynthia Hill of Pink Hill — “Tobacco Money Feeds My Family” — can be viewed at the market, as well.
There will be a dozen carnival rides, including a Ferris wheel, in the middle of Pearson Park.
4-H donkey drop bingo is a new game where each participant pays $5 to rent a piece of “property” in hopes that Snickerdoodle, the 4-H donkey, will drop her business there. The winner will receive half of the ticket sales. Tickets can be purchased in advance at the Cooperative Extension Center on N.C. 11 South or by calling 252-527-2191.
An opening ceremony at 10 a.m. on Saturday will include Col. Joe Tyson, chairman of the Kinston-Lenoir County Tourism Development Authority and mayor pro tem of Kinston. Contact Bonnie and Herman McLawhorn to participate in the Walk of Honor/Salute at 252-560-4440.
The farmers market will be open and statewide members of Got to be NC can set up around the market, Kelly said.
Murphy will be giving away at least one golden key award at 1 p.m. Saturday on the main stage to someone who has benefited the community, but hasn’t been recognized for it.
There will be lots of entertainment, including the highlighted bands The Entertainers on Friday and the Seaside Band on Saturday.
Adrian King, executive director of the Pride of Kinston, said the downtown restaurants, in particular, benefit from the festival.
“It’s a big economic boost for the town,” he said. “… It’s how a lot of people get acquainted with the town.”
Margaret Fisher can be reached at 252-559-1082 or Margaret.Fisher@Kinston.com. Follow her on Twitter @MargaretFishr.
BBQ Festival on the Neuse Schedule of Events
Wednesday:
9 a.m.-5 p.m. — Plein Air Paint Out, Neuseway and Pearson Park at Gordon and Mitchell streets
5-11 p.m. — Amusement Rides, Mitchell Street
Thursday:
1 p.m. — Caswell Center Foundation Golf Tournament, Falling Creek Country Club
6-9 p.m. — Evening with the Stars, The Red Room, 220 N. Herritage St.
5-11 p.m. — Amusement Rides, Mitchell Street
Friday:
Noon (arrival time) — 32nd Annual Wil King Hog Happenin', Pearson Park
Welcome — Miss Kinston, Festival on the Neuse hospitality team.
5-9 p.m. — The Arts and Crafts Market, Ellis Carriage Bldg., Blount and Herritage streets
5-10 p.m. — Wine Garden, garden behind The Red Room, North Street
5-11 p.m. — Amusement Rides, Mitchell Street
5:30-9:30 p.m. — Kid's Fest
6 p.m. — Teen Nation Tour 2013 concert/autographs, Herritage Street stage
7th Annual Chamber Burger and Brew Bash, Pearson Park
Steve Hardy's Original Beach Party, Pearson Park stage
6-9 p.m. — Art Fest, Herritage Street between Blount and North streets
Karaoke with KG
6-10 p.m. — Farmer's Market, Herritage Street
6:30 p.m. — Welcome/Introduction of Cook Teams and Sponsors, Herritage Street stage
6:30, 8:30 — Ring City Roller Girls, behind Mother Earth in parking lot
7 p.m. — Chief Cook briefing, Pearson Park, main stage area
7:30 p.m. — Ghost Walk Tour, Farmers Market area, reservations in advance $6 per person, call 252-527-1131
Showmanship Competition, Pearson Park
7:30-9:30 p.m., 10-11 p.m. — The Entertainers, Pearson Park stage
8-10 p.m. — Top National ATV Riders Meet and Greet
9 p.m. — Lizzy Ross, The Red Room stage, North Street
9:30 p.m. — Fireworks
, Herritage Street and Pearson/Tiffany West Park
Saturday:
7:30 a.m. — Bicycle Fitness Ride for Scholarship, registration, 9.5 mile or 22.5 mile ride
8 a.m. — Hog Happenin', on-site barbecue judging
Emcee Martha Bishop/TACC 9, Farmers Market stage
8:25 a.m. — Fitness Ride lineup
9 a.m.-4 p.m. — The Arts and Crafts Market, Ellis Carriage Bldg., Blount and Herritage streets
9 a.m.-1 p.m. — Open Car Truck Show, registration, call Diane Jones, 252-560-0782
9:30 a.m. — 2nd Annual Corn Hole Tournament, first toss 10:30 a.m., St. John's Masonic Lodge No.4 A.F. & A. M.
10 a.m. — Opening Ceremony, National Anthem, Walk of Honor stage
Welcome — Col. Joe Tyson, chairman, Kinston-Lenoir County Tourism Development Authority
Walk of Honor/SALUTE!, call Bonnie and Herman McLawhorn, 252-560-4440
Steve Hardy's Original Beach Party, Pearson Park stage
10-noon — Amusement Rides, Mitchell Street
10 a.m.-1 p.m. — Heritage BBQ Pit, Pearson Park
10 a.m.-2 p.m. — Special Festival shopping events, Herritage Landing merchants
10 a.m.-4 p.m. — Art Fest, Herritage Street between Blount and North streets
Kid's Fest
Farmer's Market, Lenoir Co. Farmer's Market, 100 N. Herritage St.
Wine Garden, garden behind The Red Room, North Street
Vendor's Market, Gordon, Mitchell, North and Herritage streets and in the park
Antique Tractor and Farm Equipment exhibit
“Tobacco Money Feeds My Family” Outdoor film, Ellis Buggy Bldg.
Karaoke with KG
Overland Gallery studio opening, Herritage and Blount streets
10 a.m.-5 p.m. — CSS Neuse II Living History event, Gordon and Herritage streets
10 a.m. until — The Nature Center/Planetarium/Big Daddy Train
10:30 a.m. — Ring City Roller Girls, behind Mother Earth in parking lot
10:30 a.m.-noon — Kinston Public Safety fire engine display, Caswell Street near Queen Street
11 a.m.-2 p.m. — Civil War Battlefield guided bus tours, CSS Neuse, Herritage Street
11 a.m.-4 p.m. — The Seaside Band, Pearson Park stage
11 a.m.-4 p.m. — BBQ plates $7, sandwiches $3, pound $7, advance bulk orders, call 252-527-1131, Pearson Park, Farmers Market, Herritage Street behind Mother Earth, Blount/Mitchell streets
11 a.m.-6 p.m. — Brewery Tours, Mother Earth, tours every 30 min., 311 N. Herritage St.
Noon — Teen Nation Tour 2013 concert and autographs, Herritage Street stage
12:30 p.m. — Ring City Roller Girls, behind Mother Earth in parking lot
1 p.m. — 3rd Annual Golden Key Award presentation, Pearson Park stage
Mandolin Orange, The Red Room
1:30 p.m. — Sauce Boss competition, Pearson Park, main stage, to compete, call 252-527-1131
2 p.m. — 4-H Rabbit and Poultry Show, farmers market, to enter, call 252-527-2191
2:30 p.m. — Ring City Roller Girls, behind Mother Earth in parking lot
2:30-4 p.m. — Public Safety fire engine display, Caswell Street near Queen Street
3 pm — Car/Truck Show awards, Car Show stage
4-H Donkey Drop Bingo, Mitchell Street
4 p.m. — Great Neuse River Rubber Duck Race, Riverfront by farmers market, call Bill Ellis at 252-939-3332
7:30 p.m. — Nnenna Freelon Concert, Kinston Community Council of the Arts
Wyse Fork Battlefield guided tour, reservations recommended, call Jane Phillips 252-468-1424
CSS Neuse Interpretive Center special event, 100 N. Queen St.
For information, visit bbqfestivalontheneuse.com