Lexington Barbecue Festival Facts for Kids

The festival brings lots of people to Main and Center streets.

The Lexington Barbecue Festival is a big one-day food festival that happens every October. It's held in Lexington, North Carolina, a town famous for its barbecue. People even call Lexington the "Barbecue Capital of the World." Each year, about 200,000 visitors come to the festival. They enjoy delicious food from many local restaurants and other food sellers. There are also hundreds of other vendors selling all sorts of cool things.

This yearly event is so popular that it's even listed in the book 1000 Places to See in the USA & Canada Before-You-Die. This book is part of a famous series. In 2012, U.S. News & World Report magazine said Lexington was one of the top cities for barbecue. It was ranked #4 on their list.

Festival History
Getting There by Train
Barbecue Styles and Fun Rivalries
- Official Festival Status
Other Fun Activities
See also

Festival History

The festival also has a "Pigs in the City" event.

The idea for this amazing festival started in 1983. Joe Sink, Jr., who ran the local newspaper The Dispatch, first suggested it. He talked to the bank BB&T, and they decided to explore the idea. They hired Kay Saintsing, a local expert, to see if a festival would work.

The study showed it was a great idea. Lexington was already a popular place for barbecue on weekends. So, the very first festival was held on October 27, 1984.

The Lexington Barbecue Festival quickly became one of the most popular food festivals in the country. The first festival had 30,000 people. Barbecue chefs cooked 3,000 pounds of meat for everyone. By 1994, over 100,000 people were coming. They cooked 11,000 pounds of meat to feed them all! In 1995, a special cooking contest called the North Carolina Championship Pork Cook-Off joined the festival. Visitors could watch experts from eastern North Carolina cook whole hogs.

Downtown Lexington is very busy during the festival.

The festival takes place every October in downtown Lexington. Several city blocks on Main Street are closed to cars for the event. Besides barbecue, there are usually more than 400 other vendors. They sell arts and crafts, homemade fudge, and many other items. Big companies like Childress Vineyards, Pepsi, BB&T, and Walmart have helped sponsor the festival over the years. Many local businesses also support it.

When the festival first began in 1984, most participants were local restaurants and shops. Since then, it has grown a lot. Now, hundreds of vendors sell all kinds of products. While barbecue is still the main focus, many merchants sell unique items from the area.

In 2020, the festival went online because of special circumstances.

Getting There by Train

During the festival, NC By Train sets up a special temporary train station. It's just one block away from the festival fun. Amtrak's Carolinian and Piedmont trains stop there. This makes it easy for people to visit the festival by train.

Barbecue Styles and Fun Rivalries

You can find fun rides at the festival too!

The festival mainly focuses on Lexington-style barbecue. But you can also find some vendors selling eastern-style barbecue. This sometimes causes a friendly (and sometimes not-so-friendly) debate! People in North Carolina love their barbecue, and there are two main styles. Lexington style usually uses a tomato-based sauce. Eastern style uses a vinegar and pepper sauce.

This "barbecue battle" has even reached the state government. In 2006, some bills were suggested in the North Carolina House and Senate. They wanted to make the Lexington Barbecue Festival the official barbecue festival of North Carolina. Another bill suggested making it the official food festival. But these bills didn't pass. Almost half of the state prefers eastern-style barbecue. So, making one style "official" caused a lot of discussion.

There's often a light-hearted feud between people who love different barbecue styles. For example, author Jerry Bledsoe once joked about another journalist, Dennis Rogers. Bledsoe called himself the "world's leading barbecue authority." He said Rogers had "ruined any chances of this state being distinguished in its barbecue." Even though it's often funny, choosing a barbecue style can be a big deal in North Carolina!

Official Festival Status

In 2007, a bill called NC House Bill 433 finally passed. This bill gave the Lexington Barbecue Festival a special title. It became the "Official Food Festival of the Piedmont Triad Region of the State of North Carolina". By only including the Piedmont Triad region, they avoided arguments about eastern barbecue. This way, no single barbecue style became the "official" one for the whole state.

Other Fun Activities

Besides all the delicious barbecue, the festival has many other exciting things to do. You can watch lumberjack games, where people show off their skills with axes and chainsaws. There's live music playing on up to five different stages. You can also see cool street performers doing acrobatics and juggling.