GRAVETTE — The Greater Gravette Chamber of Commerce will be bringing the big guns in the barbecue world into town when it hosts the inaugural Smoke on the Border barbecue competition this weekend. Championship barbecue teams from Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma have signed up for the competition, to be held Saturday and Sunday at the Hiwasse fire station, 13690 Firehouse Lane, in Hiwasse. More than 1,500 are expected to attend.
"We want to encourage folks to come out to Smoke on the Border and bring a friend," said Fred Overstreet, president of the Greater Gravette Chamber and chairman of the barbecue event. "We are planning for this to be one of our community's greatest events, providing delicious food and lots of other entertainment for the entire family."
Smoke on the Border is sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbecue Society. KCBS is the world's largest organization of barbecue and grilling enthusiasts with more than 20,000 members worldwide. The organization sanctions more than 500 barbecue contests throughout the world, with competitions for barbecued chicken, ribs, pork and brisket served and judged by certified barbecue judges.
Smoke on the Border is also co-sanctioned by the Oklahoma Barbecue Society, as well as the Arkansas Diamond Cup. This allows the competing teams to score points in several Team of the Year series.
The event will begin about 12 noon on Saturday, April 1, with vendors of all kinds and a Kid's Que contest, where the younger generation of cooks will prepare hamburger dishes in two age divisions. There will also be a fun contest called "Anything Butt," in which the cooks will prepare an entry featuring anything but the four KCBS certified categories.
The "Anything Butt" contest will be judged by a panel of "celebrity" judges, Overstreet said. "This can get very interesting," he said, "as these cooks are very creative and they know how to cook more than just barbecue."
The People's Choice event is sure to be a popular activity, where members of the public can purchase a tester kit, allowing them to sample each chef's work, then cast their vote for their favorite dish. Each participating cook will be furnished a pork shoulder to season and smoke as they choose. Taster kits are $10.
"You'll want to come hungry, as there should be around a pound of pulled pork to sample for each taster kit sold," Overstreet noted.
The serious smoking will take place on Sunday, April 2, according to Overstreet, when more than 20 teams from the four-state area will cook meats in the four categories, chicken, pork ribs, pork and brisket. All competition judging will be by a panel of judges certified by KCBS. The teams will be competing for more than $5,000 in prize money. The "turn-in" is not open to the general public, Overstreet explained, to protect the fairness of the competition. However, the awards ceremony, held after the judges tabulations are complete, will be a fun event. The awards ceremony is expected to take place about 3:30 to 4 p.m. on Sunday.
Sponsors for the Smoke on the Border competition include Cherokee Casino of West Siloam Springs, United Rentals, Harps Foods, Austin Drug, Built-Well Construction, Arvest Bank, Gravette Eye Clinic, Grumpy's Peace, Love & Coffee, Teasley Drug, CV's $avers Club, Bank of Gravett, Metal Building Supply, Kross Kountry Moto Gear, Freedom Powersports, Gravette United Methodist Church, Yates Tax Service, BBB Septic, Big Deal Marketing, Ozarks Community Hospital, Impervicote, Blastmaster, The Clorox Company, Waste Away LLC and the city of Gravette. Proceeds from the event will support the Greater Gravette Chamber of Commerce.
For more information about the Smoke on the Border event, call 479-752-3313, 479-787-8998 or visit www.facebook.com/smokeontheborder.
Community on 03/29/2017