The Safeway Barbecue Battle is the largest annual festival fundraiser benefitting the Boys & Girls Club in Washington and has raised over $1.2 million for the Clubs in past years. New to the 2011 BBQ Battle, this year’s BBQ Bazaar will feature barbecue cooking tools and equipment, exotic sauces, spices and rubs, and several cooking demonstration stages with cookbook authors, barbecue champions and TV chef celebrities sharing tips, samples and recipes for winning cue creations. The newly added Perdue Sizzlin Chicken Contest will include an appearance by Jim Perdue to personally present the winner’s trophy on Saturday evening. The Rancher’s Reserve Beef BBQ Championship and DC Lottery’s Barbecue Challenge featuring chicken, beef and pork will also be held on Saturday. Teams compete in the National Pork Championship on Sunday and the weekend’s Awards Ceremony is held at 6:30 pm on Sunday at the conclusion of the event weekend.
In the shadow of the nation’s capitol, the signature Safeway Sampling Pavilion hosts tens of thousands of attendees and offers a variety of tasty free food samples, cooking entertainment and live music.
Tickets to the popular Safeway Barbecue Battle can be purchased in advance at a reduced price online at bbq-battle.eventbrite.com. Or purchase tickets at the entry gates on the event weekend, June 25 and June 26 ($12 for adults, $5 for kids, free for ages 5 and under).
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Event hours are: Sat. 11 am to 9 pm; Sun. 11 am to 7:30 pm.
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Fans and festival attendees can vote for their favorite barbecue and sauce and participate in the People’s Choice contest. Admission includes free live music from 30 great bands on 3 stages including these and more:
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- Chuck Brown r
- Cowboy Mouth r
- Honor by August r
- Mambo Sauce r
- Junkyard Band r
- Lethal Peanut r
- Funk Art r
- Suttle Thoughts r
- DJ Quicksilva r
- Hotspur r
- EU r
- Niki Barr Band r
- Love Seed Mama Jump r
- Secret Society r
- Charles “Big Daddy” Stallings r
Attendees can vote for their favorite barbecue and sauce and participate in the People’s Choice Contest. Ticketholders of all ages can participate in the interactive exhibits and unique attractions including:
NBA Nation, on-site basketball games for kids, with NBA players and stars; the Lego Experience Tour; Rock wall climbing; Johnsonville’s World’s Largest Grill, grills 2,500 brats per hour; Big Bite Tour, based on popular “Man Vs. Food” TV Show; BBQ Bazaar with tempting and unique heat-seeking condiments, chefs demonstrations and sampling including Myron Mixon, mega-winning National Barbecue Champion of previous Battle competition, cookbook author and TV’s “Bad Boy of BBQ,” giving prize-winning tips; and much more!
For additional details on the Safeway Barbecue Battle, please visit www.bbqdc.com or call (202)828-3099. We’ll see you at the BBQ!
