The International Bar-B-Q Festival, Inc. board of directors announces the Bar-B-Q Block Party 2021, a one-day event taking place on Saturday, May 8, 2021. This new event will take the place of the traditional Bar-B-Q Festival weekend and will comply with COVID-19 guidelines.

While the Bar-B-Q Block Party will be a more scaled-down event, it will include some traditional Bar-B-Q Festival elements, such as the Backyard Cooking Competition presented by Kentucky Legend, in addition to bar-b-q from several of the local churches that traditionally participate in the festival. Downtown restaurants will be open, and 2^nd Street will be closed to allow for ample outdoor seating and social distancing. In order to reduce crowd size, this year’s event will not include arts and crafts vendors, live music, the beer garden, carnival rides, or the World Mutton Eating Championship.

“The Bar-B-Q Festival Board realized that the typical festival weekend could not take place with the ongoing effort to combat the Covid virus.  So, we decided to get back to the basics with a one-day event to celebrate the rich bar-b-q heritage in Owensboro,” said Allen Payne, Festival Board Chairman.

“The second weekend in May in downtown Owensboro is usually filled with the sights and sounds of the Bar-B-Q Festival. I am thrilled with the creativity of the festival board to come up with the Block Party idea and still celebrate bar-b-q,” said Tim Ross, City of Owensboro Director of Public Events and International Bar-B-Q Festival board member. “This event will be a scaled-down version of the normal festival, but we are excited to be able to further support the local downtown restaurants who have struggled during the past year with the pandemic.”

For more information on the Bar-B-Q Block Party, visit www.bbqfest.com.