10/4/07
BBQ Festival smokes in Manning Friday and Saturday
By Cathy Gilbert
and Bill Rogers

CLEVE DOWELL/Manning Times

Barbeque champion Dr. Chuck Mitchell prepares a sample for judges at a recent South Carolina Barbeque Association judged event. There will be ample samples available at the Pigtales Festival Barbeque Cook-off this weekend in Manning.

More than 20 teams will be competing in the Friends of the Library inaugural Pig Tales Festival Barbeque Cook-off Friday and Saturday.

This is a South Carolina Barbeque Association Master Barbeque Award event. Festival Chairman Jane Powell invites everyone to come out Friday and Saturday to sample some great food from the area’s best cookers.

“There will be barbeque and food venders on hand as well as some great Bluegrass music,” Powell said. “Also featured will be a fantastic line-up of local entertainers including the Manning High School Band, an Elvis tribute performer, clogging and much more.”

Proceeds from this event will be used to support the Harvin-Clarendon County Library.

On Friday, from 6-9 p.m., it will be “Anything But Pork,” as sort of a long, slow, teasing warm up to the next day’s event.

“All entrants in the Saturday event are also entered into Friday night’s Anything But Pork contest,” Powell said. “This will give Saturday’s cooks something to show off while they are getting ready for the next day’s big event.”

Both Friday night and Saturday events will be held in the Manning Municipal Parking lot, located at the corner of Church and Boyce Streets.

“Stokes-Craven has generously sponsored our Friday night event,” Powell said. “Visitors will purchase $1 tickets and one ticket gets you a sample, and a generous sample at that. We have had entries for Friday night from Summerville, Chester and Charleston, as well as many local cooks. We have secured judges from among local celebrities and there is a $300 cash prize for the winning entry.”

Saturday will bring a completely different kind of event – this one sanctioned by the South Carolina Barbecue Association (SCBA), the leading promoter of barbecue cook-offs in the state.

The cooking for the Saturday event will start as soon as the Friday night event winds up and will go on through the night.

The SCBA will send a sanctioned marshal and qualified judges. Judging will start around 11 a.m. Prizes include a $1,000 and trophy first prize, a $300 and trophy second prize and a $200 and trophy third prize. The first place winner is guaranteed an entry into the “Best of the Best” SCBA event in November.

The event organizers have made a special effort to make sure that when a barbeque team enters the barbeque competition they can be sure that the judges will be the best trained barbeque judges available.

For the cook-off, Powell and her committee, has asked the South Carolina Barbeque Association to provide the barbeque judges for this championship event. Their choice of the SCBA judges means that those trained and certified judges will be drawn from all over the state of South Carolina. Jim Streeter, Marshall for the competition, expects more than 30 judges to come to Manning to help with the festival barbeque judging.

South Carolina is the only state in the nation that has four distinct styles of barbeque – mustard based, tomato based, light tomato based and vinegar and pepper style. It takes a trained and impartial judge, the kind of judge that the SCBA strives to turn out, to be able to judge barbeque prepared in such a diverse environment.

Each year the SCBA holds seminars around the state, selecting and training judges from each area. Then, before a SCBA judge can earn his certification, he must judge in at least four different contests under the supervision of a SCBA Certified Judge. The SCBA also requires that their Certified Judges judge in at least fifteen different contests and then cook with a barbeque team, from start to finish, before they can become a SCBA Senior Judge. This requirement guarantees that a Senior Judge will understand, and maybe even sympathize with, all of the work that a cooking team must go through to be a part of a barbeque cook-off festival

The SCBA judges must meet the highest standards of any certified judges in the nation and that’s the way they like it. They want to be the best and they strive to be the best. The championship cooking teams that are preparing to come to the Manning festival deserve every consideration and the personnel of the “Pigtales, Barbeque and Bluegrass” have made every effort to see that they get it.
You can learn more about the SCBA and becoming a Certified Judge from their web site at www.scbarbeque.com.

“It will be a great day of fabulous family fun,” Powell said. “We will have the High & Lonesome Bluegrass Band for entertainment, because what goes better with barbecue than Bluegrass music? Folks will be able to purchase a $2 sandwich or a $4 basket, which include chips and a drink. We will also be selling bulk barbecue at $6 a pound.”

In addition, there will be performances from local dance troupes (of course with clogging), choirs, singers and all kinds of musicians, according to Powell. Tripp Boykin of Laurence Manning Academy will be keeping at the action moving. There will be face painters for the little ones and “Elvis” of Turbeville (“Thank you, thank you very much.”) has promised an appearance.

To top it all off, there will be a giant, Friends of the Library Book Sale running concurrently near the gazebo to the north of the parking lot. Hardbacks will be a $1 and paperbacks are just 50 cents. This is a great way to pick up some great books at a great price. Donations are still being accepted at the Harvin Clarendon County Library of gently used children’s and adult books. Call Library Director Marilyn Tsirigotis for more information or to arrange a pick-up.

The fun will go on from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Manning Municipal Parking lot. Bring your lawn chair and blanket and come prepared to enjoy some great food and a great community gathering.

This championship event is being held at the intersection of Hwy 521 (South Church St.) and Hwy 261 (Boyce St.) in downtown Manning. For more information phone the library at 803-435-8633.