11th annual Wine, Brew & BBQ Friday, Saturday

The Wine, Brew & BBQ is back in Hill City for its 11th year. In a few days, 25 professional BBQ teams of “Pit Masters” from South Dakota, Texas, Wyoming, Colorado, Iowa and Minnesota will converge in Hill City. They are competing for a prize package of $10,000 with championships in chicken, pork ribs, pork butt and brisket. 

There will also be 30 judges from the Kansas City Barbecue Society (KSCB) coming from all over the United States to judge the events. 

Things kick off Friday, Aug. 25 in a horseshoe pattern running down Elm Street, across Walnut Avenue and up McGregor Street with more events in the parking lot of the Hill City Center (HCC) where a big tent will be set up.

From 3-5 p.m. there will be live music with local favorites Paul Larson and Kevin Killion along with a performance from Harmony in the Hills at 5:30 p.m. taking place in the big tent at the HCC lot. 

This year’s Kids Q Competition will take place from 5-6 p.m. on the lawn in front of the HCC. For this event, children in two age groups ranging from 6 to 10 and 11 to 15 get to show off their grilling skills with the supervision of a family member. 

Aspen Ridge Lawn & Landscape is providing Big Green Egg grills for the children to cook on, and the event is providing the meat. 

“They just have to have a recipe, and they can come down and compete,” said events coordinator Emily Schulz. The children also need to bring their own garnishes and seasoning. 

This event is free to enter and can have up to 20 competitors. There is still room for more contestants. Pre-registration is preferred, but children can register the same day by 4 p.m. if there is still room.

The entries will be judged at 6 p.m. and awards will be announced Saturday at 4 p.m. The first place winners in each age group will receive a cash prize. 

Aspen Ridge Lawn & Landscape is also doing a drawing with everyone entered in the Kids Q Competition, and two winners will receive their own Big Green Egg grill. 

New this year is the dessert competition taking place at 6:30 p.m. Anyone can enter this competition, and Schulz said, “We’d love to see a lot of dessert entries even just from local people.”

The entry fee is $25. Desserts are being judged by the professional level judges from KSCB, and cash prizes for first, second and third place will be presented at the award ceremony on Saturday. 

At 7 p.m. there will be a team auction, and then Brett Morris will wrap up the event with live music from 6-9 p.m. at the big tent in the HCC parking lot. 

The festivities start back up Saturday morning, Aug. 26, at 10 a.m. and once again run through 9 p.m. 

From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. is the Backyard BBQ Rib Fest. This is when amateur backyard cooks compete for bragging rights for the best ribs, and anyone can enter. 

This is a people’s choice event so the public can try all the ribs and vote for their favorite. Altogether, the tasters will get about a rack of ribs. The cost for tasting and voting is $20 per wristband. Then, from 1:45-3 p.m. the public can taste the pro barbecue samples. 

A token is required for sampling and voting. These tokens are $2 each and are generally sold in a pack of five at the big yellow kiosks around the event. 

The public can exchange their token for a sample of the barbecue they want to try. Each sample is three ounces so a bag of five tokens adds up to about a pound of meat. 

Along with the tokens, tasters get a ticket to vote for their favorite. 

Vintage Blue will perform from 2-4 p.m. at the big tent in the HCC parking lot.

Finally, “All of the awards happen at 4 p.m. on Saturday under the big tent. That’s when we will be giving out all of our cash prizes, and we have other awards too,” said Schulz. 

The day will wrap up with music headliner, Camp Comfort. They will be performing from 6-9 p.m. at the big tent in the HCC parking lot.

Schulz said the live music, “adds to the atmosphere of the barbecue and the town.”

“This successful and fun event is a Hill City stand-out,” said Janet Wetovick-Bily, executive director of the Hill City Area Chamber of Commerce. “It’s all about bringing some incredible BBQ pit masters to Hill City, enjoying some great BBQ, wine and brews, and most importantly—bringing thousands of people together for a great time in Hill City. The experience is the focus, and that’s where Hill City excels.” 

For the event as a whole, Schulz said, “We’re expecting around 8,000 people from the public to attend.”

During the event, there will be 30 regional craft beers available for purchase as well as wine. Alcohol is permitted in the designated areas as marked. It also must be in an event cup with the purchase of a $5 wristband sold at the yellow kiosks. 

There is also plenty of barbecue available for purchase during the event outside of the competitions. In fact, Schulz said, “The whole town smells like barbecue.” 

“I hope that a lot of the public attends. We’re so thankful for all of the volunteers that help us bring everything together. Most of it is local not-for-profits around Hill City that are helping out,” said Schulz. 

This event is a fundraiser for the 501(c)3 Tin City Masonic Lodge No. 112. charities like the Delta Dental Van, scholarships for Hill City graduating 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 a community effort for us because we’ve got different organizations participating,” said Jack Welker with the Masons. 

Welker said that the event not only raises money but also raises awareness about who the Tin City Masons are and what they do for the community. It also brings thousands of people into Hill City for the two day event which in turn supports the community. 

“We try to keep the community involved in it,” said Welker. The Masons too have been involved in planning the event since the beginning of the year and are busy preparing things for their event booth.

Along with raising money for the Masons, event proceeds are also donated to the volunteer groups that help with the event like the Hill City Booster Club, different high school sports teams, local sororities and the Hill City Fire Department. 

For more information, to register, to volunteer or for a full schedule of events, go to hillcitywinebrewandbbq.com.