Rain doesn’t Stop 33rd International Bar-B-Que Festival

Rain, High Wind, Cool Temps., and massive construction didn't dampen the spirits of thousands of  Bar-B-Q fans this weekend. It was the weekend of good times and great food and nobody was going to miss it.

With Friday night being cut a bit short by Thunderstorms crowds began to filter into downtown early Saturday morning for the annual walk/run, Political Forum and car show.

Food vendors lined "High Calorie Highway", otherwise know as 2nd Street. The backyard cooks were doing their thing and I noticed more backyarders than last year. The cooking teams lit the fires on Friday night and they were going strong all night and into Saturday morning.

For the 33rd year I was honored to be a judge for the cooking team competition. Bob Kirtley, Sheriff Keith Cain and I were the senior members of this 15 member panel.

Judging the best Bar-B-Q in the world isn't easy. All eight teams have great food. Our job is to determine who is the best of the best. It is a labor of love and we LOVE Bar-B-Q. An interesting side note: This years judging took place at El Toribio Mexican Restaurant due to construction and traffic problems. We truly are a diversifed community. Thanks for Antonio and Elsa hosting us. Their home really felt like our home.

While others were outside riding rides, eating deep fried whatever, playing games, checking out the cars, and enjoying the music at one of the several stages. (Or looking for a clean porta potty) we were inside putting our taste buds to work.

We dont know whick team the food belongs to. Each sample is lettered and the link to the letter is known only to three people. The score sheet is detailed and ranks such things as taste, aroma and overall unique taste to name a few. I usuall judge mutton (no new judges ever do mutton it takes a few years to work up to that coveted spot), but this year opted to judge burgoo. It was the best I have ever had and very hard to determine the best.

This years winners were:

Chicken                                Crooked Creek

Mutton                                 St. Mary of the Woods

Burgoo                                  St. Mary Magdalene

Best Overall                         Precious Blood

Team Spirit                          Blessed Mother

Other teams ranking close seconds incuded: St Pius X and Our Lady of Lourdes.

You don't have to wait till next years festival to get some great Daviess County Barbecue. There are several great restaruants in the area that serve authentic Mutton, Chicken, and Burgoo. Also the season of Barbcues begins this weekend with the annual event at the Carmel Home on Old Hartford Rd. and the churches host these giant fun-raising feeds almost every weekend.