Do you live in or near Surprise, AZ? Do you like BBQ? If you answered yes to either or both of these questions, then you must mark your calendar to attend the first Surprise BBQ Festival happening at the Surprise Recreation Campus on March 3rd. Below is the press release written by my good friends over at Affordable Food Festivals and EATERAZ.com.
The Surprise BBQ Festival Kicks Off Spring Training in Surprise, AZ
Just before Opening Day of 2012 Spring Training at Surprise Stadium,
a BBQ Festival will set the tone (and by tone, we mean smell of smoked meat!)
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.—On March 3, 2012, a smokin’ good time will be had at the first Surprise BBQ Festival on the Surprise Recreation Campus—the spring training home for the Texas Rangers and Kansas City Royals. Although Opening Day for the 2012 Spring Training season is Sunday, March 4, BBQ teams from around the country will descend on Campus grounds, setting up camp for the big BBQ festival on Saturday, March 3.
Over 30 teams from as far as Alvarado, TX, Missoula, MT, and Olympia, WA, are coming in to fiercely battle for $10,000 in prize money and competition points from the judging organization, the Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS). Festival attendees will enjoy $2 samples of pulled pork, smoked chicken, beef brisket, and baby back ribs from over 20 of the competing teams. Rounding out the BBQ offerings, top BBQ vendors from around the state will vend full plates of ‘que with all the fixin’s.
This event will have a decidedly family-friendly, baseball-driven theme to it – from the Stadium right next door, to the three college baseball games going on at neighboring fields during the festival, and special baseball themed attractions in the Kid’s Zone, such as pitching games and a face painter specializing in team logos.
The event starts at 11am and costs $10 to enter. Inside, The Brookside II Sports Bar & Grill will operate the main bar, smack in the middle of the events’ eight-acre grass field. Bartenders from this popular west side spot will add a lively atmosphere to the festival. The Larry Miller Toyota Main Stage will host two blues bands—the Bottoms Up Blues Gang and The Sugar Thieves—who will play as people check out new Toyota vehicles parked around the stage itself.
A boutique whiskey tasting expo will take place from 12-5pm. For only $10, guests will have their run with some of the finest bourbons, whiskeys, and single malts ever produced. After a trip through the expo, organizers recommend a ride on the mechanical bull or race in potato sack relays with event sponsors, Yelp.com and Popchips.
Other sponsors include The Arizona Pork Council, SnoBar, SRP, Arizona BBQ Outfitters, Budweiser, and Evan Williams Bourbon. Select proceeds benefit the “Anne Rita Monahan Foundation: ARM Yourself Against Ovarian Cancer.”
The Surprise Recreation Complex is located at 15960 N. Bullard Avenue. General admission is $10 (free for kids under 12); food samples are $2 each; beer, wine, and whiskey cocktails are $4-$10; BBQ meals start at $6. For more information, visit www.surprisebbqfestival.com.
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