Atoka BBQ Fest kicks off Friday night – here’s what you need to know

The 10th annual Atoka BBQ Fest kicks off Friday night in Nancy Lane Park, bringing with it a decade of tradition and, of course, stormy weather.

“The BBQ Fest event has grown, changed, and expanded throughout the years into what has become a well-received, and respected, BBQ competition, taking place just before the annual Memphis in May Barbeque Competition,” said mayor Barry Akin. “This year there are 60 teams  registered, and we are expecting another great competition to add to the history books. Although the main part of the event is the BBQ competition, there are still many other things open to your family and the community.”

In addition to the cooking contests, there are several public events:

• Friday – corn hole tournament with cash prizes, a Kid’s Cook Off, and the biggest selection of food trucks and merchandise Vendors in BBQ Fest history. There will be live music by The Jay Jones Band and Twin Soul.

• Saturday – Kid’s Zone with bounce houses, slides, obstacle courses, and yard games that are all free. New this year is a pulled pork tasting which is open to the public with donations from several competition teams providing the pulled pork (noon until 2 p.m.). The public will then get to vote for a team to win the People’s Choice Award. Saturday will also include the Mayor’s Pie Challenge and Grilled Cheese Challenge. Both contests are open for the public to participate in with awards issued to the judge’s top picks.

“Free transportation will be provided from the Nancy Lane parking lot all throughout the event, and from our overflow parking at the Cineplanet movie theater located on Munford Atoka Avenue,” Akin said.

This year competitors include:

• Fireside Smokers
• A&RQ
• Poker Porkers
• Upigs BBQ
• Crye-Leike A Pig
• The Memphis Porkestra
• 2 Guys & A Butt
• Rick Bobby Smokers
• B & B Cookers
• Uncultured Swine
• Que N Da 662
• Porkosaurus
• Lee Laq
• Blind One Eye Swine
• City Auto
• Adam Hill’s Blue House Grill
• 2 Phat’s BBQ
• Sticky Butts
• Uncle Pookie BBQ
• Riberty
• Blue Collar BBQ
• Sweet & Smokey
• Porkin N Public
• Got Pig?
• Ain’t It The Life
• Praise The Lard!!
• Delta Swine
• X-Treme Smokers
• Killer Grillers
• No Stress Smokers
• Hold My Beer And Watch This
• Swine Life BBQ
• Bad Boy Swine & Shine
• Whiskey Pig Outlaws
• X-Treme Smokers
• Patriotic Porkers
• When The Smoke Clears
• M&W Smokers
• Bad Pig BBQ
• The Hogfather
• Irreverent Warriors Smokers & Jokers
• Southwest
• The Barbeque Experiment
• Swig N Swine
• Gray Area Smokers
• Swine & Dine
• Boon Dock Smokers
• Lickman BBQ
• Dixie Creek BBQ
• Auto Be Grillin
• All Hale The Swine
• Beer, Piggy, Piggy, Piggy
• Busted Knuckles BBQ
• Limp Brizkit
• Southern Comfort Cookers
• Porkin For Paws
• Aint Got A Que
• Smoke Masters BBQ