16^th Annual BBQ N Blues Festival

June 3 & 4, 2011

The 2011 BBQ N Blues Festival which will be held on Friday, June 3 and Saturday, June 4, 2011 will be the 16^th Annual Celebration.  It is the way that the Cushing Chamber of Commerce and the City of Cushing pays tribute to the Cushing Pipeline Industry.  The pipeline companies also use the event to say thank you to the citizens of Cushing by spending most of Friday night preparing the brisket and serving it on Saturday.

The Friday event starts early that morning with a Pipeline Golf Tournament for participating pipeline companies as well as ancillary businesses that support and serve the pipeline industry. 

In 2010, over 40 teams participated in the event.  In 2011, the golf tournament will be expanded to more than just a half-day event in order to provide the opportunity for everyone who wants to play.  This year we will have one flight in the morning and one flight in the afternoon.  The morning flight will cater to the pipeline company teams who have someone cooking Friday evening and Saturday during the day. 

Friday evening’s celebration is a private event for pipeline companies, their families and corporate sponsors to eat barbecue, visit and listen to live entertainment.

Starting at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday morning, the Festival is open to the public to taste the wares of the different pipeline companies who are preparing brisket and other tasty dishes.  The public can purchase a tasting boat for $5 and taste as many of the pipeline dishes as their stomachs will hold. 

The smoker that is used for cooking is known as the “largest smoker in the world.”  It has eleven arms off of the firebox so each company can hook their grills up to the smoker and use the heat from the one firebox to cook their brisket.  Each pipeline company will cook between 100 and 175 pounds of brisket dependent upon the number of companies doing the cooking.  Each pipeline company built their own grill to fit on the firebox.  The ingenuity that has gone into the construction of each grill is worth attending the event by itself.

At approximately 3:00 p.m., awards are given out for the People’s Choice and the Judges Choice.  Each person who purchases a food boat can vote for what they consider the best brisket of the all.  Judges are also selected who taste each company’s brisket as well.  The competition for both awards between the pipeline companies is fierce and the winners have bragging rights until the next festival.

Along with the great food that is served, there are also drawings for great prizes for people who attend, children’s activities and great live music from entertainers in the Blues genre of music.

It is a great way to spend the first Saturday in June and to eat good barbecue, listen to live music and to let the kids enjoy the various activities that are provided for them.