Sometimes you just want more, so Allentown will celebrate its sixth annual Blues, Brews & Barbecue festival this Saturday with more barbecue than ever before! This free event presented by the City of Allentown and the Hamilton District Main Street Program of the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce features live music, delicious food and a variety of activities which provide fun for the whole family. From noon until 10pm on Saturday, June 8, delicious creations and blues sensations fill Hamilton Street.
The incredible menu features more than 80 different offerings including staples like pulled pork and ribs, and even a pulled pork cupcake. Turkey drumsticks, gyros, jambalaya, pulled pork quesadillas, kielbasa, steak sandwiches, maple bacon peanut brittle and much more will appeal to the meat-lovers. Vegetarian chili, roasted corn, kale chips and more offer veggie alternatives. Funnel cake, fried pb&j, ice cream, pie fries with blueberry dipping sauce and much more will be perfect for those with a sweet tooth.
The collection of more than 15 food vendors includes many local favorites like: Aw Shucks Roasted Corn, Bull & Bear, Danny’s Fine Foods, Fat Boy’s House of BBQ, Fegley’s Brew Works, Grumpy’s Bar-B-cue Roadhouse, Oogie’s Ice Cream, Phil’s French Fries, Roosevelt’s 21st, Sangria, Sugar and Spice Pies and Trixie’s Treats. BA BBQ, Duck Deli, Front Porch Family Farms and Wholy Chipotle will be visiting from outside the Lehigh Valley. All will delight taste buds.
All new for 2013: Event organizers are thrilled to have BA BBQ – “the world’s largest mobile barbecue restaurant” as part of the event. One of their menu items is the “Horseshoe” a “famous creation including Texas toast, your choice of meat, topped with BA BBQ sauce, covered with fries, and smothered with cheese.” This vendor literally converted an 18-wheeler into a mobile barbecue shop.
Duck Deli has won the best in both the barbecue and ribs categories for 2011 and 2012 from the Bucks County Intelligencer newspaper’s reader poll. Located in Duck, NC and New Britain, PA, Duck Deli will be offering authentic Southern barbecue at the event this weekend. Their tagline is: “when you wish upon a smoker, barbecue dreams do come true.”
For the first time, festival-goers will have the opportunity to eat locally raised barbecue. Front Porch Family Farms, from New Ringgold, PA, will offer the freshest in meats – straight from their farm. Their animals are pasture-raised.
Grumpy’s Bar-B-Cue Roadhouse is a Lehigh Valley favorite in the barbecue realm, winning countless awards year after year. Fat Boys House of BBQ is newer to the scene but has plenty of fans who love their generous portions and tasty recipes.
This year’s event will be headlined by the Nick Moss Band of Chicago, whose namesake learned from legends like Jimmy Dawkins and Jimmy Rogers, and the Alexis P. Suter Band of New York. The Alexis P. Suter Band is in demand for blues festivals across North America from British Columbia to South Carolina. Beloved Lehigh Valley Blues artists who will take the stage include: the James Supra Blues Band and The BC Combo. April Mae and the June Bugs and the Christopher Dean Band of New Jersey, Midnight Shift of Perkasie and Friar’s Point of Kutztown will also delight the audience. Sarah Ayers will perform as a special guest during the Christopher Dean Band’s set. Mayor Ed Pawlowski will demonstrate his skills on the drums during the latter part of the day as well.
Children will love the features catered to them like the train ride, moon bounce and slide. FeFe will be visiting from the IronPigs from noon-1pm. There will also be an area of children’s games. As in years past, the spectacular fountain on PPL Plaza will be in operation for visual appeal and to provide refreshing fun. There will be a limited amount of giveaways for children at the information tent.
A barbecue competition where vendors compete in five categories including: chicken, beef, pork, baked beans and salad is back for the 6th year. Judges don’t know who prepared the food and score based on characteristics like unique quality, taste (of course) and presentation. The judging will begin at 1:30pm. The judging panel is comprised of representatives from local media outlets and sponsoring businesses including Boyle Construction, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, the Morning Call and RCN. Winners are announced at the festival at 4pm and will receive a plaque along with bragging rights.
In addition to a significant number of eateries, restaurants and caterers serving up a bountiful menu of barbecued options, there will be more than a dozen vendors and artists with everything from cigars (Guy and Lady Barrel from Dover, DE) to gourmet sauces (Sweet Heat from State College, PA) and paintings to kitchen gadgets. Some of the artists will be demonstrating their work. Two unique additions to the artists’ line-up: Victory Cigar Box guitars and the artist who created our poster art, Bobby Zeik, will be painting on-site. Puttle, a fun “sport” for all ages will be demonstrated as well. This event truly has something for everyone.
Another brand new feature for the 2013 festival is the Blues, Brews and Barbecue Scavenger Hunt organized in partnership with Run Lehigh Valley. At least 30 teams are registered for this activity which steps off from the festival site at noon just as the event gets underway. The concept is a mix of the Amazing Race, the barbecue festival, Allentown landmarks and hotspots and a lot of fun. Participants will explore the city and end-up back at the festival in the afternoon. For more details, visit www.runlehighvalley.com. Registration is limited and closes on Thursday evening.
For those over 21 years of age, there will plenty of refreshing beverages to be enjoyed responsibly. Partnering with our local brewery – Fegley’s Brew Works, beverage supplier – Wise Guys Beer Depot and sangria crafter – Sangria allows us to offer six varieties of beer and a blend of red and white sangria. Beers on tap will include both domestic and craft varieties.
Plenty of free parking is available in Spiral Parking Deck at Eighth and Linden streets. Guests are free to bring their own chairs to guarantee seating. Most vendors accept cash only, but there are ATMs in the vicinity of the event. For more information please contact Tara Craig at 610-437-7530 / 484-951-1875 or visit www.allentownpa.gov/blues.
Schedule of Entertainment
Noon to 12:50 – April Mae & the June Bugs
1:00 to 1:50 – Friar’s Point
2:00 to 2:50 – Midnight Shift
3:00 to 3:50 – Christopher Dean Band
4:15 to 5:30 – James Supra Blues Band
5:40 to 6:40 – BC Combo
7:00 to 8:20 – Alexis P. Suter Band
8:30 – 10:00 – Nick Moss Band
The City of Allentown and Hamilton District Main Street Program appreciate the support of sponsors like: Adams Outdoor Advertising, Alvin H. Butz, Boyle Construction, the County of Lehigh, Cedar Crest College, Dan’s Camera City, Holiday Inn Allentown Center City, RCN, Sangria, The Morning Call, WDIY, WFMZ and others whose contributions make community events like these possible.
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