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Barbecue festival scheduled at Sloss
By LEIGH ANNE MONITOR
BIRMINGHAM POST-HERALD

They will be stoking the fire for barbecue — not pig iron — at the city's landmark furnaces.
Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark will presents its first "Stokin the Fire BBQ Festival" Aug. 26-27. Professional barbecue cooks are coming from across the country to compete.

It's a festival for grilling pros and amateurs, with $20,000 in prize money and special one-of-a-kind trophies up for grabs.

Organizers hope the event will give Birmingham a major annual barbecue festival, said Mary Head, marketing and development director at Sloss.

"Birmingham is a real hot spot for barbecue," Head said. "It's for people to come and see what they're doing."

The pros will follow Kansas City Barbeque Society guidelines. Fans can watch the cooks and note their equipment, Head said.

"This is hard-core serious," she said.

Barbecue, from chicken to ribs, will be available for sale from two vendors.

The festival also will sell seafood. Food prices will be in the $5 to $12 range, Head said.

Amateurs will compete for a mayor's cup trophy and bragging rights, Head said.

The event will include bands performing in the No. 1 cast shed stage area, plus a children's area with inflatables and a spray water area, art activities and more.