9th Annual Smoke on the Falls BBQ Festival

Gadsden, AL-  Smoke on the Falls, presented by City of Gadsden Parks and Recreation Department, is back Friday April 13th- Saturday April 14th at the Noccalula Falls Campground for the 9th year.  The highlight of the weekend is the Kansas City Barbecue Society Certified Barbecue contests pitting 48 teams in the Professional and Backyard divisions.  Cooks from far and wide will be competing for more than $3,000 in the Backyard division and more than $11,000 in the Professional division.  Teams must register by March 24th to participate.

The Dean’s Sausage Cook-off returns this year. Cooks are challenged on Friday night to try their hand at crafting a winning dish featuring Dean’s Sausage. In addition to the Dean’s Sausage Cook-off on Friday, there will be a meet and greet with the pit masters and team members. The Friday evening event is free to attend and open to the public.

The barbecue festival opens to the public at 10 a.m on Saturday, April 14th.  Admission to the festival is $5 for ages 4 and up and free for children 3 and under. Your ticket includes admission to the festival and entry for a chance to win a Traeger Grill. Local food and craft vendors will be set up during the event and have items available for purchase. We have added an exciting musical line-up beginning with Crambone at 10:30 a.m. Peanut & Rush will follow them at 1:30 p.m. There will be a Popeye’s chicken and biscuit eating contest at 12:30 p.m.

Visit the Jack’s Kids Zone for inflatables and a performance by the Harlem Globetrotters! There will be a shooting contest on Saturday with a chance to win prizes.

Some competitors will offer free samples after they’ve submitted their entries, so be on the lookout for signs at team tables.  The weekend concludes with an award ceremony for the Smoke on the Falls barbecue contest at 3:30 p.m.

Proud sponsors of the event include Dean Sausage Company, Johnson’s Giant Foods, Blackstone Pub & Eatery, Gadsden Regional Medical Center, Traeger Grills, Greater Gadsden Area Tourism, The Factory, Popeye's Louisiana Kitchen, Academy Sports & Outdoors, Coca-Cola and H M Freeman Motors.

For more information contact Janet Tarrance, Parks and Recreation Department at jtarrance@cityofgadsden.com or by calling 256-549-4643.