Freedom Fest gets fired up with the 4th annual Squealin’ on the Square! Come downtown to watch barbeque connoisseurs fire up their grills to compete for the golden pig. The competition will be held Friday and Saturday, July 4th and 5th, on Murray’s Court Square.

The competition is one of only three barbeque competitions in the state that is sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS). KCBS is the world’s largest organization of barbeque lovers. Annually, they support over 150 contests throughout the nation. The mission of the KCBS is to celebrate, teach, preserve, and promote barbeque. It wants barbeque to be viewed not only as a culinary technique, but as a sport and an art form. The KCBS aim is to have barbeque acknowledged as America’s cuisine.

To kick off the competition, competitors spend Friday preparing their barbeque for Saturday’s judging. Following the parade Saturday morning, they will present their tasty creations to a panel of certified judges, approved by the KCBS. Judging criteria will be based on flavor, tenderness, appearance, and overall impression. The competition consists of four categories: chicken, ribs, pulled pork, and beef briscuit. Places will be awarded in each of the four categories, as well as an overall grand champion.

Everyone is welcome to come downtown for the competition. Spectators are welcome to sample the mouth-watering barbeque, and may purchase barbeque both before the competition on Friday and afterwards on Saturday.

Applications will soon be available for Squealin’ Competitors! For more information,
call Jason Pittman at 270.809.5577.

CLICK HERE FOR A SQUEALIN' APPLICATION