Fall festival boasts barbecue competition

By Preston Knight -- pknight@nvdaily.com

WOODSTOCK -- Instead of cheese, how about some barbecue with that wine.

Any tears shed Saturday will be of joy as the Woodstock Chamber of Commerce is ready to host its first Autumnfest at the Shenandoah County Fairgrounds, an event featuring the Shenandoah Valley BBQ Competition. Wine tastings, bluegrass music, a corn hole tournament, crafts, games, the chamber's business expo and other events will also greet visitors from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

But the marquee attraction is the barbecue competition, which is sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbecue Society, a 25-year-old organization with more than 14,000 members worldwide. The connection locally is that fair manager Dean Morgan is a certified judge for the society.

Morgan has trained others to prepare for Autumnfest, and winners on Saturday will receive points toward the barbecue society's worldwide competition, said Jenna French, the executive director of the chamber. First- through fourth-place winners will be named in chicken, pork, pork ribs and beef brisket, she said, and the judges will announce a grand champion and reserve champion.

From 2-4 p.m., there will be a "people's choice" pork barbecue challenge.

In advance of Autumnfest, organizers set a cap for the number of barbecue entrants at 30. French said they have reached that maximum and have a waiting list of 30 more who are ready to participate next year. The entries are from across the region and state.

"It's been a great success and we've had a ton of interest," French said.

One of Morgan's goals is to grow the event into a weekend-long barbecue and bluegrass festival. French is not opposed to it -- the next Autumnfest is already planned for Oct.
20, 2012, and organizers would like to at least attempt an expansion into a Friday and Saturday event.

"Part of the goal is to promote tourism," she said. "[Multiple days] would get people out and have them staying the night."

As of Monday afternoon, even if the chamber did not sell another ticket, it was going to be in "great shape" in terms of fundraising from Autumnfest, French said. She expects up to 2,000 people on Saturday.

"We're in a great position," French said.

Tickets are $10 for adults in advance at various locations around Woodstock, and $15 at the gate. Children 11-16 will be admitted for $5, and those 10 and under for free.

For more information, call the chamber at
459-2542 or visit www.woodstockvachamber.com.