Cooking teams from across the Delta are getting ready to fire up their smokers for the third annual Great Ruleville Roast, which will be held this weekend at Rule Park in downtown Ruleville.
The barbecue competition and festival will begin Friday at 6 p.m. with a performance by singer-songwriter Brandi Lyle of Ruleville, followed by the Curb Service Band and the Curvettes from Greenwood at 7 p.m. and a fireworks show at 10 p.m.
Admission to the event is free.
“It’s a free concert. All you need is a chair,” said Katherine Carver, publicity chairman for the Great Ruleville Roast.
The festivities will continue from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. Saturday with arts and crafts vendors and various activities for children of all ages, including a rock-climbing wall, a giant slide and a bungee run.
Starting at 11 a.m., entertainment will be provided by Delta RoX and Ol’ Skool Revue from the Delta Music Institute at Delta State University.
But the main event at the two-day festival will be the barbecue competition.
About 20 teams will be competing at the Great Ruleville Roast this year, including Fat Side Up from Greenwood.
The Fat Side Up cooking team has competed at many barbecue festivals — including Memphis in May, Charlie Boy in Benoit, Octoberfest and Moosefest in Cleveland and Funfest in Cordova, Tenn. — and team member Dennis Cheshier said they have enjoyed going to the Ruleville event since it began three years ago.
“The barbecue competition is top notch — it’s really organized,” he said.
Cheshier, an engineer who works as the manager of the coatings department for Viking Range Corp., explained that the team decided on its name, Fat Side Up, because “that’s how to cook barbecue.”
The group has been cooking together since 1999, and even has its own Web site, www.fatsideup.com.
The first round of the barbecue competition will take place on Friday night with judging in the baked beans, seafood/fish and wild game categories. On Saturday, judging for chicken, beef brisket, Boston butt/shoulder and pork ribs will be held.
Winners will be announced at 4 p.m. Saturday. The winners in each category will take home a trophy and a cash prize. The team with the highest cumulative score for all categories will be named grand champion and receive a trophy and $250.
An award also will be given for the “Best Decorated Site.”
Though it’s a friendly competition, Cheshier said it gets “pretty intense.” He said Fat Side Up’s ribs “will be hard to beat,” and he also is confident about the team’s overall performance.
“We will win more trophies at Ruleville than Michael Phelps won gold medals,” he said.
Some other highlights of the Great Ruleville Roast will include a hog-calling contest at 9 p.m. Friday night. Contestants will come up on stage and perform their best hog calls, but Carver assures that no live hogs will come running.
“The only hogs that will be there will be over in the barbecue competition,” Carver said.
From 6:30 a.m. until 9 a.m. Saturday, the Ruleville Rotary Club will host its annual pancake breakfast at the old depot.
“It’s an old tradition that’s been going on for many years, and it’s good too,” Carver said.
Throughout the festival, various vendors will be on hand selling traditional fair foods, including barbecue prepared by members of the Ruleville Fire Department.
Organizers are hoping people from the surrounding towns will head over to enjoy the event as they have in past years.
“It’s a wonderful Delta gathering,” Cheshier said. “People come from all over the Delta to come and see their old high school and college friends.”
For more information about the barbecue competition, contact barbecue chairman Elise Jenkins at (662) 719-1675 or jenkins2@tecinto.com.
For all other information about the Great Ruleville Roast, contact event chairman Kathryn Purcell at (662) 756-4996.
