12th annual Wine, Brew & BBQ Friday, Saturday

You can almost smell the barbecue on the streets of Hill City. In just a few days, 25 professional barbecue teams and 32 Kansas City Barbecue Society (KCBS) judges from South Dakota, Massachusetts, Wyoming, Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Canada will converge in downtown Hill City for the 12th annual Wine, Brew & BBQ (WBBBQ), Aug. 23-24. 

These professionals will be competing for a grand prize package of $12,500 with championships in chicken, pork ribs, pork butt, brisket, desserts and beans. There are also a variety of competitions open to the public. 

Things kick off Friday, Aug. 23 with events in a horseshoe pattern running down Elm Street, across Walnut Avenue and up McGregor Street. More events will be held at the Hill City Center (HCC) parking lot where a big tent will be set up.

“We hope to have as many as 8,000 people over the two days,” said WBBBQ coordinator Emily Schulz. 

This event is a fundraiser for the Tin City Masonic Lodge No. 112, a 501(c)3  organization that supports charities like the Delta Dental Van, scholarships for Hill City seniors, Books for Bikes with the Hill City Public Library, the Child ID Program, the Poplar Bear Chili Cook Off and other such things. 

“It’s one of the biggest fundraisers that we do all year. Then, we’re able to help,” said Mason John Knapp. “We enjoy doing that.”

During the event the Masons will also have a booth with pulled pork, brisket, baked beans and coleslaw.

“I think that the Masons do so many great things, especially for the youth in Hill City,” Schulz said. 

Along with the Masons, several other nonprofit organizations volunteer at the event. In return they receive donations for different community projects. 

This year, there will be several new vendors at the WBBBQ. Aspen Ridge Lawn and Landscaping will cook on Big Green Eggs all weekend with different samples, Sergeant Poppers will sell lemonade and popcorn, Crystal’s Cheesecake does cheesecakes on a stick and Milton’s Spices out of Sturgis will be there as well. 

BBQ Alley as well as the Wine and Brew Fest will be open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday. 

Sick N Twisted Brewery is bringing its beer and wine trailer to the event. Attendees will be able to choose from a rotating selection of around 30 different local brews throughout the weekend along with wine and cocktail options. Alcohol is permitted in the designated areas with the purchase of a $5 wristband and an event cup.

From 3-5 p.m. at the big tent there will be live music with local favorites Paul Larson and Kevin Killion. Harmony in the Hills will perform at 5:30 p.m., and then Brent Morris will close the evening with live music from 6-9 p.m. 

“Those are always popular local guys,” said Schulz. 

This year’s Kids Q Competition will take place from 4:30-5:30 p.m. on the lawn in front of the HCC. For this event, children in two age groups including 10 and under and 11-13 get to show off their grilling skills with the supervision of a mentor. 

Aspen Ridge Lawn and Landscaping is providing Big Green Egg grills for the children to cook on, and two pounds of ground sirloin will also be provided. From there, the children can create whatever recipe they desire to share with utensils, seasonings and garnishes brought from home.

“My favorite part is seeing all the kids cooking because they have to do it on their own,” said Schulz. “So it’s just really fun to see what they come up with every year.” 

This year through a random drawing, two children in the competition will take home a mini Big Green Egg prize package worth $750. 

This is a free competition and children can enter until 4 p.m. on Friday either online or by going to the HCC. 

New this year is the beans competition. Schulz said it was decided to add this category since the professional cooks will be in town, but locals are invited to join as well. The turn-in time is Friday at 6 p.m. 

The turn-in time for the dessert competition, which is open to pros and locals, is 6:30 p.m. Entries are judged based on taste, appearance and texture. This was new last year, and Schulz said, “It was great. It was really fun. We saw lots of different types of desserts.”

On Saturday, the backyard BBQ Rib Fest will take place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. This is a people’s choice competition for amateurs. Up to 12 teams can compete for bragging rights in the competition, and there is still time to enter.

For a $25 wristband, attendees can taste everyone’s ribs and vote for their favorites. 

“It basically comes out to all the ribs you can eat. There will be 12 different ribs, which is a full rack,” said Schulz. 

From 1-3 p.m., live music from Vintage Blue can be enjoyed at the big tent in the HCC parking lot. 

Then, from 1:45-3 p.m. is the KCBS people’s choice competition. For a $2 token, attendees can get a three-ounce sample from a pro chef. Tokens are sold in bags of five for $10 which adds up to around a pound of meat. 

All the event categories will be judged by the KCBS. Award winners for each category will be announced at 4 p.m. Saturday at the big tent. This year Schulz said there is a designed custom cutting board for the awards. 

Darin French will close the event with live music from 6-9 p.m. 

For more information, contest rules, to register or for a full schedule of events, go to hillcitywinebre

wandbbq.com.

“We’re really looking forward to a great year and seeing everyone at the bbq,” said Schulz.