A busy weekend in the City of Elizabethton concludes with a one-of-a-kind event to benefit a local, historical landmark.
Months of preparation will be on full display Saturday, Sept. 23 for the inaugural BBQ, Blues and Brews festival at Covered Bridge Park. From 4:30 to 9 p.m., attendees have an opportunity to dabble in a variety of aspects, from BBQ to beer sampling, with all proceeds from the night going toward renovations at the Bonnie Kate Theater, located in downtown Elizabethton.
“We’re finally there,” said Amos Brown, festival co-chair and ECCF board member. “It’s exciting to see the support for this type of event. We’ve had such a great reach in the community and the region. This is our first year doing an event like this, and we’re expected a pretty solid turnout. It’s the first time an event like this has been held in Elizabethton, and it’ll be something to enjoy for people of all ages.”
BBQ, Blues & Brews tickets are still available for purchase before the event, and will also be sold Saturday at the gate. BBQ & Blues Tickets, (without beer) are $20. Festival, 5K/Fun Run registration as well as discounted Run/Festival combo tickets are available at www.bbqbluesandbrews.org.
For more information, contact Brown at 423-278-6207 or Jared Tetrick at 423-341-3459.
Before the actual event, a 5K and Fun Run will start at 4 p.m. with the dining event following suit at 4:30 p.m.
According to information provided by the ECCCF, seven regional restaurants will offer barbecue samples in a competition to receive bragging rights to be named “Best of Show.” Attendees will have a chance to vote for their favorite bbq during the night.
Restaurants competing include J’s Corner, the Smokehouse BBQ Company, Jiggy Ray’s, Southern Craft, Moe’s Original BBQ, Hokie smokie and Wayne’s Barbecue. Along with the barbeque, desserts will be provided to round out each meal from Food City. Mimi’s Food Truck and Kona Ice will also be parked downtown to sell refreshments to attendees.
Two beer vendors, YeeHaw and Best Brands Distribution, will bring several unique flavored beers to clench the pallets of individuals with samples. Live music during the night includes My New Favorites and This Mountain.
As excitement mounts, Brown added the benefits from the event will go a long way to restoring the tradition of the Bonnie Kate.
“All proceeds will go to benefit improvements at the Bonnie Kate,” Brown said. “There’s so much work that’s already been accomplished. There have been some events already in the theater; now our goal is to focus attention to the roof, which is something we’ll need to focus on before making any other repairs.”
To go along with the activities from the ECCCF, different organization are lending some extra perks to the event, including the Elizabethton Rotary Club.
During the evening, the Rotary Club will sell “Pints for Polio” glasses for $3 as part of the Rotary International’s goal to eradicate polio worldwide.
Club President Joe Alexander stated the club has worked to eliminate polio worldwide since 1988. Since that time, the disease has been reduced 99.9 percent thanks in part to vaccination efforts by Rotary, health organizations and volunteers. Rotary has partnered with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for the final push to help eliminate the disease in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria. For each dollar raised by Rotary, the Gates Foundation is adding $2. Each glass purchase is a contribution of $9 to the initiative.