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Pro grillers and pickers draw record number of fans The Grand Champion Swamp Boys team, Rob and Amy Bagby of Winter Haven, Fla., are shown here with event organizers Steve and Jane Tomlin. By Tony Wheeler S
taff WriterIn any battle, the victor becomes apparent only after the smoke clears. Such was the case in Dillard, Ga. on Saturday evening. The fairgrounds at City Hall had hosted the 13th annual Barbecue and Bluegrass Festival on Friday, July 31 and Saturday, Aug. 1, and, as the end drew near, a restless crowd was gathering near the old schoolhouse to hear Jane Tomlin announce the results. At stake was bragging rights and a chance to enter the world championship cook-offs in October. Grits, cabbage and desserts were among the special categories receiving awards. Barbecue cooking teams from all over the nation were on hand to compete in the Georgia State Championship in Dillard, sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbecue Society. The winner qualifies for the Super Bowl of the barbecue circuit, the Jack Daniel's World Championship Invitational at Lynchburg, Tenn.“To get to the Jack Daniel’s World Championship Barbecue you’ve got to prove yourself all season on the competitive barbecuing circuit,” says Lynne Tolley, KCBS certified barbecue judge and great-grandniece of Jack Daniel. “And when you finally earn your right to compete here, it’s an all-out battle of tongs and smoke to claim our top prize.” Mike and Carol Hallman of Franklin are manning a vendor booth at the barbecue fest for the fourth year. Hawking their homemade sauces and rubs, they said they did well despite the down economy. Of the Dillard championship, Kevin Jenkins called it outstanding. “This is a venue as classy as you'll find, and we go everywhere. This is as good as it gets,” he said. Jenkins should know, he was there doing a live remote broadcast for his radio show “Chef and the Fat Man,”heard each Sunday on Atlanta’s News Talk 1160. The show has subscribers in 10 countries, he said.Jenkins had been interviewing Bobby Cresap of Team Bobby-Q. “Dillard is the best contest around,” Cresap said. “We come up on Wednesday, so it’s like a vacation with a contest in the middle. It’s great. You see the same people every year and make good friends,” he said. Scene from the Dillard Bluegrass and Barbecue festival on Saturday. The Dillard event is maxed out on space, with 57 cooking teams this year, Tomlin said. Jane and her husband Steve organized the event as a way to promote Dillard. The Tomlins own Tomlin BBQ and Catering at Osage Farms and compete on the circuit during the farm’s off season. They don’t compete at the Dillard festival because they are hosts.Grits and desserts were turned in for judging Friday, followed by the categories of cabbage, chicken, pork, ribs and beef brisket on Saturday. Friday’s entries were for show only, with no points awarded toward the championship. Competitors have ten minutes to turn in the entries, from five minutes before the posted time of turnin to five minutes after. An official clock is present at the turn-in table outside the judges’ building and the time rules are strictly adhered to. Kevin Jenkins of Atlanta’s News Talk 1160 poses with Team Bobby-Q at the Dillard championship. From left are Jenkins, Bobby Cresap, Tom Chamberlain and Charlie Cates. The team went on to win as reserve champions. Winners in the cooking competition were the Grand Champion Swamp Boys from Winter Haven, Fla., and the Reserve Champion Team Bobby-Q of Atlanta, Ga. Smoky Mountain Smokers won the chicken category, Swamp Boys took first place in ribs, Bare Bonz BBQ won in the pork category, Jack's Old South took brisket, the Jus-Fer-Fun Cooking Crew won for grits, Grilling Gangsters took cabbage and Naked Bones won the dessert category.The musical line-up this year was again top-notch, said Hank Belew, entertainment director for the festival. “The crowd was the biggest we've had so far. It was the best music we’ve heard, and the audience response has been great. A bluegrass fan walked up to me awhile ago and said this is the best festival around,” he said. Oliver Rice, a local musician there just enjoying the bands said the music was the best he's ever heard. “There’s a lot of talent packed in here every year,” he said. That talent included the Foxfire Boys, New Horizon, Grass Revue, Volume Five, Curtis Blackwell and the Dixie Bluegrass Boys, Heaven's Echos, Mississippi Sawyers, Shadow Ridge, and the Crowe Brothers. The team trailer from the Pig in Heat team from Toccoa, Ga. The Tomlins said paid attendance again reached over 3,000. “This crowd was even a little bigger than last year,” Steve said. Jane said, “I get to say this every year, and every year I mean it - this was the best year ever. It didn’t rain, the weather held out, and everything went smooth with no problems.”The Dillard Bluegrass and Barbecue Festival Association is a non-profit organization that contributes proceeds from the event to two charities a year – one is Community Pantry and the other is chosen by an association member. For more information phone (706) 982-1750 or email
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. Matt Barber, of the Hot Wachula’s cooking team, shows off his ribs. This is his third year cooking at the competition and says he’s done pretty good so far winning the special category of Mountain Trout last year. |
