Holy Smokes Barbecue Festival

It’s not just a dish, it’s a lifestyle.

Barbecue is serious business in the South.  Reputations are on the line.  Competition is fierce.  People have strong opinions.  And at the end of the day, folks eat well.

Here’s a brand new festival that looks to be an especially delicious one, with a ton of barbecue muscle and clout.

2021 marked the inaugural Holy Smokes Barbecue Festival at The Bend, with its cool motto:  “FINE MEATS & NICE FOLKS.”  It was back again in 2022, this time at a bigger and better venue  -  Riverfront Park in North Charleston.  And it was back for the third year, in 2023, and bigger than ever with over 50 pitmasters   -  for all-you-can-eat barbecue of all kinds.

The goodness began with the organizers  -  Home Team BBQ’s Taylor Garrigan and Aaron Siegel, Swig & Swine’s Anthony DiBernardo, and Southern Living’s Contributing BBQ Editor Robert Moss.

General admission tickets give you access to four different barbecue villages (up from three last year), with all you can eat benefits.  So come hungry.  The villages will feature BBQ in different styles  -  traditional, Texas, “chef driven,” and new this year, "Coastal Village" featuring seafood.  VIP tickets also give all-inclusive access to bars with wine, beer and liquor.

Entertainment includes live music by Daniel Donato's Cosmic Country and Lilly Hiatt.

Proceeds go to a great cause  -  Hogs for the Cause and MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital, to help in the fight against pediatric brain cancer.  Last year's event raised over $100,000 in each of the last two years, plus another big chunk for Charleston's Ronald McDonald House.

A recent Pitmaster Lineup was truly a thing of beauty:

• ANDREW & MICHELLE MUNOZ  -  Moo's Craft Barbecue, Los Angeles, CA
• ARNIS & MALLORY ROBBINS  -  Evie Mae's Pit Barbecue  -  Wolfforth, Texas
• BEN BERRYHILL  -  Red Drum, Charleston, SC
• MICHAEL BESSINGER  -  Bessinger’s BBQ, Charleston, SC 
• CHRIS LILLY  -  Big Bob Gibson BBQ, Decatur, AL
• CHRIS FULTZ  -  ZZQ/Texas Craft Barbecue, Richmond, VA
• RONNIE EVANS & PHILIP MOSELEY  -  Blue Oak BBQ, New Orleans, LA
• ELLIOTT MOSS  -  Buxton Hall, Asheville, NC
• PATRICK FEGES  -  Feges BBQ, Houston, TX
• JONATHAN & JUSTIN FOX  -  Fox Bros Bar-B-Q, Atlanta, GA
• TANK JACKSON  -  Holy City Hogs, Charleston, SC
• AARON SIEGEL & TAYLOR GARRIGAN  -  Home Team BBQ, Charleston, SC
• AMY MILLS, 17th Street Barbecue, Murphysboro, IL
• TUFFY STONE  -  Tuffy Stone BBQ Provisions  -  Henrico, VA
• CODY SPERRY  -  HooDoo Brown BBQ, Ridgefield, CT
• HECTOR GARATE - Palmira Barbecue, Charleston, SC
• RYAN PREWITT & STEPHEN STYJEWSKI  -  Peche Seafood, New Orleans, LA
• JACQUES LARSON - Wild Olive & The Obstinate Daughter, Johns Island, SC
• JAMES LONDON - The Chubby Fish, Charleston, SC
• JAMIE HOUGH  -  Zero Forks Given, Charleston, SC
• KEVIN JOHNSON  -  Lola Rose & The Grocery, Charleston, SC
• LESLIE ROARK SCOTT  -  Ubons Barbecue, Yazoo City, MS
• KEVIN MITCHELL  -  Culinary Institute of Charleston, SC
• MATTHEW REGISTER  -  Southern Smoke BBQ, Garland, NC
• EVAN LEROY  -  Leroy and Lewis BBQ, Austin, TX
• STEPHEN FRANKLIN  -  DAS BBQ, Atlanta, GA
• SHUAI & CORRIE WANG  -  King BBQ, North Charleston, SC
• MADISON RUCKEL  -  Mama Jean’s BBQ, Roanoke, VA
• MICHAEL TOSCANO  -   Da Toscano Porchetta Shop & Le Farfalle, Charleston, SC
• PAT MARTIN  -  Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joint, Nashville, TN
• PATTY FLOERSHEIMER & TRUDI WAGNER  -  Goat. Sheep. Cow., Charleston, SC
• MICHAEL HUDMAN & ANDY TICER  - Hog & Hominy, Memphis, TN
• CAREY BRINGLE  -  Peg Leg Porker, Nashville, TN
• RODNEY SCOTT  -  Rodney Scott’s BBQ, Charleston, SC
• SAM JONES & MICHAEL LETCHWORTH  -  Sam Jones BBQ, Winterville, NC
• HARRISON SAPP & GRIFFIN BUFKIN  -  Southern Soul Barbeque, St. Simons Island, GA
• ANTHONY DIBERNARDO  -  Swig & Swine, Charleston, SC
• LEONARD BOTELLO, IV  -  Truth BBQ, Houston, TX

Check out the website for more info and to purchase tickets.

NOTE: Date and details for 2025 haven't been set yet.  Check back closer to the festival for the latest info.