The smell of BBQ and taste of bourbon will return to the downtown streets of Owensboro on May 10th and 11th.
The 2024 event will include BBQ vendors, five church cooking teams, art vendors and a larger Baird Private Wealth Management Bourbon experience that will be located inside of the Owensboro Convention Center, and concerts on the Owensboro Convention Center lawn. Entertainment will be announced on February 5th.
“The improved concept that we launched last year to refocus on great barbecue and adding a new bourbon element proved to be a tremendous success with most of the vendors selling out of food each day,” said Sharon Nesmith, former International Bar-B-Q Festival Chair. “The outstanding volume of sales last year was amazing, and we are excited to be adding more barbecue vendors, a new church team, Immaculate Parrish, and more bourbon options this year.”
A new component to the event last year was the Bourbon Experience taking place at the Owensboro Convention Center. The sold-out ticketed bourbon experience featured more than 30 distillers offering bourbon samples in addition to vintage Owensboro barbecue. The 2024 Bourbon Experience will expand its footprint inside the Owensboro Convention Center, allowing more ticket holders to enjoy traditional Owensboro barbecue from Ole South Bar-B-Q and bourbon samples from more than 35 distillers.
A new addition this year will be the Kentucky Champions Motorcar Invitational. The car show will take place from 10am-3pm on Saturday in the parking lot of the Owensboro Convention Center, and will be by invite only. Invitations have been sent out to some of the top cars in the nation and will feature prohibition era bourbon and moonshine runners among other cars. Organizers from the event include Jimmy Allyn from Bluegrass Bikers News and Jeff Stumb of “The Great Race.”
BBQ and Barrels will kick off on Friday, May 10 at 12:00 PM with BBQ from the church cooking teams and food vendors, including the return of the Pork Producers, carnival rides, and live music. The event will continue on Saturday, May 11 with the addition of the BBQ 5K, Backyard BBQ Cookoff, and the bourbon tasting events inside the Owensboro Convention Center.
Tickets will go on sale for the bourbon element of the event on February 29. VIP options will be available with the opportunity to try some special offerings from distilleries and food pairings. Bourbon classes and a multi-course dinner and cocktail paring with Green River Distilling Company will also be offered on Friday.
For more information, visit BBQandBarrels.com.
–Blake Smith, host of Let’s Talk Racing
