The City of Kennesaw will host live entertainment and showcase plenty of barbequed meat and delicious treats during Kennesaw’s Pigs & Peaches BBQ Contest on Friday and Saturday, Aug. 10-11. The event will be held at the historic train Depot in downtown Kennesaw, 2828 Cherokee Street. Admission is free.

The festivities kick-off Friday evening with an “Anything Butt” cooking competition (individual category). The Kennesaw Mountain Cloggers, a new local performance group dedicated to shining a contemporary light on one of America’s oldest, and loudest, forms of dance, will perform at 6:30 p.m. Bluegrass music will be provided by the Kennesaw Opry at 7 p.m.

On Saturday, the BBQ cooking and peach dessert contests (team categories) get underway with judging starting at noon. Cash prizes will be offered in five categories: chicken, pork ribs, pork, beef brisket and peach desserts.

Cash prizes include:

·        $2,000 for the Grand Champion (plus a Big Green Egg package worth over $1,000 courtesy of Big Green Egg)

·        $1,000 for the Reserve Grand Champion

·        $385 for 1st place in each category

·        $200 for 2nd place in each category

·        $100 for 3rd place in each category

·        $75 for 4th place in each category

·        $50 for 5th place in each category

Select competitors will also be selling their smoke-cooked delicacies, so come hungry!

Christian, Gospel, bluegrass and country musicians, including P35, Don Nichols and The Watchers will provide entertainment throughout the day beginning at 3 p.m.

A double-elimination “Backyard” Horseshoe Pitching Tournament will take place down near the “old oak tree” beginning at 8:30 a.m., continuing to 5:30 p.m. The entry fee is $5.

The Kennesaw Square Dealers dance club will perform at 6 p.m.

An awards presentation is scheduled at 7:30 p.m. to give prizes for the BBQ cooking and peach dessert contests, and the “Backyard” Horseshoe Pitching Tournament.

At 8 p.m., broadBAND, a rockin’ country all-girls group from Nashville, Tennessee will take the stage for a free concert. While concertgoers can enjoy the concert from any number of vantage points, a limited number of tables located directly in front of the performance area are available for only $40 per table. Each six-foot table seats six persons (chairs are included). The broadBAND concert is the fourth of five featured performances in the City of Kennesaw’s Summer Concert Series. For more information about the City of Kennesaw Summer Concert Series, visit www.kennesaw-ga.gov/summerconcertseries or call (770) 422-9714.

Kennesaw’s Pigs & Peaches BBQ Contest is presented by the City of Kennesaw Parks & Recreation Department, and is sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS). The event is also a Georgia State Championship Barbeque Cookoff. For more information about Kennesaw’s Pigs & Peaches BBQ Contest, visit www.kennesaw-ga.gov/pkrec/bbqcontest.

The Depot is located across the street from the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History in Downtown Kennesaw. Parking is available along Main Street, behind the Southern Museum (off Shirley drive), and off Sardis Street (near the intersection of Big Shanty Drive). Cherokee Street, from Main Street to Big Shanty Drive, will be closed during the event.