I had so much fun at the International Bar-B-Q festival in Owensboro, KY! This was my first time…read moreand I was working, but I got plenty of breaks to walk about booths and eat a lot of food and check out a lot of what else they had to offer. I had a vendor parking pass, but I saw multiple parking lots very close to the event for around $5 and you can also park on the street at meters (the 2 hour parking signs do not apply for this event). They block off a huge section of multiple roads in downtown Owensboro for the event. The first and most important thing to remember, bring cash!! I work events all the time and normally one can find an atm SOMEWHERE. I was there both days of the festival walked the booths (not all of them but most) and never found an atm. Most booths are cash only, only a few took cards which was a bummer. People come from all over the world and it did get very crowded in the evening and late at night. The festival was on Friday at 5pm to 11 pm and Saturday 9 am to 11 pm. They had a lot of different activities including four different stages with bands playing music, a 5k run/walk in Saturday morning, a mutton sandwich eating contest, a deadlifting contest, a pie eating contest, a keg toss, and rides for kids! I don't feel like I could have seen it all if I had gone for just fun!
So, the food! What most people came for! The first thing I tried out was from Big Horn beef. I had their steak dinner. It was $12 and had steak, smashed potatoes, mushrooms, and onions all in one container together. It was all wellseasoned and delicious. They also offered Worcestershire sauce and Bar-B-Q sauce to put on it but I opted out, it tasted great on it's own! The portion was well sized for the priced. I will also post their menu so people can see their other options. I then got the best pina colada I have ever had in my life! it was non alcoholic, but sooo delicious, it was from the booth called Pina Colada Caribean Style. My work friend bought 4 of them throughout the 2 days. You get get a cup for $6 or get it in a decorated pineapple cup (they use real pineapple in their drinks) for $8 or a large cup for $12.
Now for the Bar-B-Q. Most of ths Bar-B-Q stands had sandwiches for $4-5 some had them up to $7, almost none took card! Most of them offered burgoo and pork or mutton bbq sandwiches though I did sre some with ribs ans more options. They all looked pretty good but I had to go with the one that took card which was Moonlite Bar-B-Q. I got the mutton sandwich, baked beans, and potatoes salad to $8. I did try their bbq sauce on my sandwich and it was underwhelming. The meat was cooked well but it was a very thin sauce and I don't think it paired well with the seasonings already on the mutton and they only offered that one sauce. The sides were both good but nothing that wowed me. I ate at this spot again simply because they took card and got just a bbq pork sandwich which I liked better, the meat was very tender and delicious. This time I went to a stand that was accross the street from them that just sold bbq sauce and put some of their sweet and savory sauce on the sandwich. This is what I had been waiting for, a dry rub can be nice, but what is a Bar-B-Q festival without a good bbq sauce?! The sauce was from Johnny's Savory Sauces located in Washington, IN and it was one of the best bbq sauces I have ever had and I have had a lot! I will be ordering some sauce from them as they took card but no cards were able to process. This sauce was what I had expected.
There were some other food stands that were not what I would expect at an international bbq festival, typical fair food booths with the massive signs of pictures of their food and no name along with plates of old food out to show you what they serve. Mostly corndogs, gyros, blooming onions, etc. I eat at places like that all the time at events and am frequently disappointed by their food especially for the price. The great part about the actual bbq booths was how inexpensive they were for getting fresh quality food. If I had been able to get cash, I would have bought more bbq sanswches just to try them all.
Now for dessert! I had homemade ice cream from Chaney's Dairy Barn. I ordered a double scoop of the birthday cake ice cream in a cup for $5. It was excellent ice cream, smooth and creamy and had chunks of cake and sprinkles in it but not too many. They offered cones as well. They make their ice cream on their farm with milk from their cows!
The other booths at the festival I went to were meh. They had some of the same booths that are at conventions with the cheaply made sunglasses, low quality clothing reminiscent of stuff you would find at the dollar store in the early 2000s, and cheap jewelry. I would have loved to have seen more local stores with booths and handmade crafts.
