Barbecue Festival Begins Ticket Sale

Beginning Monday, March 6, festival sponsor Dr. Pepper is providing a special ticket offer which enables a paying adult to the Sept. 3 Christopher Prieto Pitmaster Invitational to acquire a kids sampling ticket for free, a $20 value. Kids tickets cover those aged 12-and-under. Kids under six are free. This offer expires April 7.

The seven North Carolina pitmasters participating in the festival’s staple event — the Pitmaster Invitational — span the Tar Heel state. Meat and side sampling selections are expected to be announced within a few weeks, event organizers said.

Food Network TV personality and Prime Barbecue restaurant founder Christopher Prieto returns as the 2023 event’s headliner. The pitmaster roster, includes:

* Prieto, of Prime Barbecue in Knightdale;

* Adam Hughes, of Old Colony Smokehouse in Edenton;

* Lewis Donald, of Sweet Lew’s BBQ in Charlotte;

* Ron Simmons, of Master Blend Family Farms in Kenansville;

* Keith Henning, of Black Powder Smokehouse inJamestown;

* Jake Wood, of Lawrence Barbecue in Durham; and,

* Benjie Ayala, of Pinehurst Brewing Co.

Tickets to the Sept. 3 Pitmaster Invitational include a combined 1.5 pounds of meats to taste and 1.5 pounds of side dishes, including an all-organic meat option provided at the Master Bend Family Farms.

“Early Bird” sampling tickets will again be available. It allows a 10 a.m. entry and a one-hour head start from a general admission ticket.

The festival weekend begins Friday, Sept. 1 with a new event: The High On The Hog Pitmaster Gourmet Dinner, which will include gourmet barbecue offerings and crafted cocktails in the Pinehurst Fair Barn.

Guests will be treated to samples, including various seafood options, along with Southern side dishes. A cash bar will be available throughout the evening.

Tickets are also available online for the Sept. 2 Bourbon and Bites, the Sept. 2 Q-School Grilling Class and the Sept. 2 Music on Magnolia celebration concert.

A concert featuring Charlotte-based Kids in America, a 1980s tribute band, will be held on Saturday night, Sept. 2. The concert, across from the Pinehurst Brewing Co., will include food and beverage vendors.

All events require a separate ticket.

New this year will be the Cackalacky Pig-Out VIP ticket, which enables patrons an opportunity for a meet-and-greet with each pitmaster on Sept. 3, along with the ability to return to favorite pitmasters for seconds.

The Got To Be NC vendor area will return and showcase at least 30 Tar Heel-based food and beverage products on the Village Green area. The Carolina CoPacking sauce and spice vendor row expects to expand to nearly 50 merchants with free samplings for patrons.