By Carol Walker
Those who come to Hill City this Friday and Saturday for the third annual Wine, Brew & BBQ sponsored by the Hill City Area Chamber of Commerce (HCACC), may be surprised by the “Big Taste” experience throughout the two-day event.
Barbeque will be center stage, but the event will be an all-around sensory experience as visitors can enjoy a variety of tastes at BBQ Alley and the Wine and Brew Village and varied sounds of rock, country and jazz music at the music tent.
According to Jerry Cole, HCACC director, 27 competitors submitted entry forms as of Tuesday in the Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) sanctioned event that will span two big days in Hill City. Organizers invite the public to come and taste great barbeque chicken, pork and beef. With a $10,000 prize package for the weekend, there is sure to be some fierce competition.
The KCBS is a non-profit organization with a mission to promote barbeque, and it does that through the 450 sanctioned barbeque contests worldwide. With 19,000 members, it is the world’s largest organization of barbeque and grilling enthusiasts. It offers education through its website as well as through presentations to civic groups, all to promote barbecue.
In Hill City, things get started early Friday morning when professional competitors will begin to set up on Elm Street.
On Main Street at 11 a.m. the Wine and Brew Village will open at Harney Peak Inn as well as at BBQ Alley in the Twisted Pine parking lot. From 2-10 p.m. everyone is invited to listen to music in the area between Twisted Pine and Ricos on Main Street in Hill City. Cole said the Hill City Slickers, Don Anderson, the Beer Slingers, Michael Shaw and Brent Morris and the Western Acoustics will all take their turns in entertaining the public. The food, drink and music will have a similar schedule on Saturday.
At noon on Saturday, competitors will take turns bringing their barbequed entries to the judges, located in the Hill City Senior Center.
At 2 p.m. the general public can begin to rev up their taste buds by going from booth to booth to taste the barbeque offerings, then casting a vote for their favorites which will translate to a People’s Choice Award for one of the competitors.
Something new this year is a BBQ Camp, sponsored by South Dakota State University and the South Dakota Beef Council. People who attend the camp will learn some of the tricks of the trade in making great barbecue.
Joining the chamber of commerce, Integrity Realty, Krull’s Market, Desperados, Dakota Stone, Alpine Inn, Duhamel Broadcasting, Community Bank and at least 20 more have helped to make this event possible.
“In our third year, this is going to be the best event ever and I believe there will be crowds to prove it. There will be hot weather on Friday, but it is supposed to be nice on Saturday,and I think people will be amazed at what Hill City has done with this event,” said Cole.