Festivals & Events

More than 150,000 people attend the one-day event.
Festival-goers consume more than 15,000 pounds of barbecue.
Activities include live pig races and the creation of a 50-ton, pig-themed sand sculpture.

Go Whole Hog

Lexington Barbecue Festival Celebrates 25th Anniversary.

A 50-ton, pig-themed sand sculpture is completed each year during the event. Photo Courtesy of Bobbie Jamison/The Dispatch

With more than 20 barbecue restaurants in a town of about 20,000 people, Lexington, N.C., proudly proclaims itself the “Barbecue Capital of the World.”

Each October, this Southern city pulls out all the stops for the Lexington Barbecue Festival, a daylong celebration of its hickory-smoked pork barbecue.

This year’s party – the 25th anniversary of the celebration – takes place Saturday, Oct. 25, with about 150,000 people expected to attend and sample more than 15,000 pounds of special festival barbecue prepared by seven masters of the trade.

But there’s plenty to do besides gorging on barbecue. An eight-block stretch of Main Street will be closed to traffic to make way for all the entertainment and activities.

More than 400 exhibitors sell everything from handmade crafts to homemade fudge, and a juried competition includes the work of artists and craftsmen from across the country. Carnival rides, games, clowns, an antique car show and five stages showcasing live entertainment will all be part of the mix.

Live pig races will take place throughout the day, along with four 30-minute bicycle stunt shows and a lumberjack sports show (with athletes chopping and sawing their way through timber). Also on hand will be a 32-foot climbing wall, a bungee-jump trampoline, art activities for kids and a 50-ton, pig-themed sand sculpture to be completed that day.

The festival is the culmination of a series of events – a Tour de Pig cycling race, a golf tournament, tennis tournament, the 5K Hawg run and the Hawg Shoot air rifle tournament – throughout October, which the city of Lexington and Davidson County have declared barbecue month.

The Lexington Barbecue Festival even has its own wine, Fine Swine Wine, created especially for barbecue. For more details about the Lexington Barbecue Festival, including an entertainment schedule, special attractions and travel information, visit www.barbecuefestival.com.

Story By Jessy Yancey

Fine Swine

What makes Lexington’s barbecue so special? Pork shoulders are cooked long and slow over hickory wood until they’re fall-apart tender. Then they’re basted with a mixture of vinegar, ketchup, water, salt and pepper, and the meat is served with more sauce on the side. Mmmmm….

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