Downtown Jonesboro BBQ And Music Festival This Saturday

The weather in Northeast Arkansas is expected to be good this weekend and so will the barbecue being cooked in downtown Jonesboro, the chairman of the event said Wednesday.

Tim McCall said the 7th annual Downtown Jonesboro BBQ and Music Festival is expected to draw between 40 and 50 teams from around the country to participate.

The event, which started as part of the 150th anniversary of Jonesboro and Craighead County, has drawn people from around the area to downtown. McCall said the barbecue contest, which will judge chicken, ribs, beef brisket and pork shoulder/butt, competes against other contests in the region for teams. However, the Jonesboro event is sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbecue Society and serves as the de facto Arkansas State Barbecue contest, according to McCall.

Teams can participate in as many of the divisions as possible. McCall said the more divisions a team participates in, the more points they can receive in the contest. Groups of volunteers have been working this week to prepare for the event, which is sponsored and funded by the Jonesboro Advertising and Promotions Commission.

McCall, who also serves as a Jonesboro City Council member and on the A&P board, said the event does have an economic impact to Jonesboro.

“(With both), I feel like our job is to bring people here and have them spend their money,” McCall said. He added that the people who visit stay in local hotels, eat at restaurants and buy gas at gas stations in the area.

He said the judges for the contest will spend two or three nights in Jonesboro while the performers will often stay the night. Many of the contestants arrive on Friday night to start setting up for Saturday’s contest.

PERFORMERS
This year’s headliner is the Motown group, the Commodores. The group will play at 8:30 p.m. Saturday at the NEA Baptist stage.

McCall said they are looking forward to hearing the group, which has played hits like “Brickhouse”, “Night Shift” and “Three Times A Lady.”

An irony is that one of the group’s hits, “Brickhouse”, is also the name of a restaurant in downtown Jonesboro. McCall said the restaurant’s owner, Dan Johnson, has helped with the event this year.

The schedule of events include:

FRIDAY

· Arkansas Brothers band – all night.

SATURDAY

· County Fair with Rep. Rick Crawford – 3 p.m.

· BBQ awards presented – 4 p.m.

· Country/pop singer Melanie Merini – 4:30 p.m.

· Professional wrestling with Jerry “The King” Lawler, 5:30 p.m.

· Flat Land Funk Donors – 6:30 p.m.

· The Commodores – 8:30 p.m.

There is no cost to attend any of the events Friday or Saturday. People interested in participating in the BBQ contest can go to the city’s website or Facebook page for the contest.