DUBLIN, Ga. — If you head out toward Dublin Saturday you can't miss the sweet smell of barbecue. The Pig in the Park annual barbecue championship is one of the highlights of Dublin's 58th annual Saint Patrick's Festival.
More than 30 different teams attended First Friday ready to serve the community different types of delicious barbecue.
Bucky Dixon with Morris Bank is the Pit Master for The Blue Que Crew
"It's almost two different kind of cooking's. Tonight we'll have barbecue we'll have sausage and chicken legs and that kind of stuff," Dixon said.
Then, tomorrow the focus for the competition will be on ribs, pulled pork, and chicken.
This is the 19th year and running.
"The most fun I have is watching people take their first taste, and just seeing their expression on their face like 'wow,'" Dixon said.
Phil Best, is the Associate Pit Master for Garbutt Construction.
"We've got teams coming from all over the state to enjoy Pig in the Park," Best said.
Dixon has competed in 'Pig in the Park' since the beginning. He says after the pandemic he believes the event has grown even more in popularity.
"This is the one competition we do a year. I have mad respect for the guys that do it year round. It's a lot of work to put on and we enjoy doing it. But, we just do it this one time," Best said.
Last year, they fed more than 200 people.
The best part of the event? The camaraderie.
"Treat it as a company outing. We have all of our employees and friends come out from Premier Properties and Garbutt construction and take in the event, and really have a good time," Best said.
The actual competition gets going Saturday at 10 a.m.