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By GEORGE WILKENS

gwilkens@tampatrib.com

Published: October 22, 2008

PLANT CITY - Pig Jam, a daylong barbecue competition and celebration of grilled meat, will be Nov. 22, the sixth year for the popular family festival.

More than 50 professional chefs from across the nation will fire up their grills in hopes of taking home ribbons, cash awards and bragging rights as purveyors of Florida's best barbecue.

The day will offer something for everyone, said Marion Smith, president of the Greater Plant City Chamber of Commerce, sponsor of the event that last year drew an estimated 10,000 people.

There will be musical entertainment, games for children and, perhaps most importantly, an opportunity to sample some world-class barbecue. Most of the competitors will be selling their ribs, pork, other barbecue and side dishes prepared at the festival.

For college gridiron diehards, Budweiser sponsors a sports tent with big-screen televisions tuned to the Saturday football games.

"We don't want anyone to have an excuse not to come out to Pig Jam," Smith said.

The competition, sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbecue Society, includes divisions for professionals and amateurs, and a third for children.

"Last year we had around 54 professional teams, 30-some amateur teams," Smith said. "The professional teams come from all over the country: North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, Georgia, Texas," she said.

The $15,000 purse provides cash awards for the top finishers in four categories - pork, ribs, beef brisket, chicken - with prizes presented near the event's 5 p.m. conclusion. Gates open at 10 a.m.

Buck Hummer and the Pickups, a Plant City musical group primarily responsible for the "jam" portion of the festival for the past four or five years, will perform from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., event co-coordinator Chris Sparkman said.

"They do country, honky-tonk, blues and some rock 'n' roll," Sparkman said. Other local groups also are scheduled to perform.

Mark Poppell and Fred Williams are credited with coming up with the idea to showcase beloved barbecue in a local festival, Sparkman said.

The two friends and cooking partners attended the 2001 Big Pig Jig in Vienna, Ga. Impressed with the event, Poppell, then a member of the chamber's board, shared his enthusiasm with fellow directors. In 2003, the Plant City chamber launched its event.

Admission to the event at the Randy L. Larson Softball Four-Plex, 1500 S. Park Road, next to Plant City Stadium, is free. Parking is $5. The prices for barbecue vary.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Sixth annual Pig Jam

WHEN: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nov. 22

WHERE: Randy L. Larson Softball Four-Plex, 1500 S. Park Road, Plant City

ADMISSION: Free

PARKING: $5

INFORMATION: Greater Plant City Chamber of Commerce, (813) 754-3707 or 1-800-760-2315; info@plant city.org; www.plantcity.org

Reporter George Wilkens can be reached at (813) 865-4433.

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