Youth Mentors of the Pee Dee BBQ Festival

The annual Youth Mentors of the Pee Dee BBQ Festival takes place at the Eastern Carolina Agricultural Fairgrounds. The two-day event features competition-quality barbecue smoked by some of the Southeast's best pitmasters.

The BBQ Cook-Off stands as one of the major fundraising opportunities allowing the Youth Mentors of the Pee Dee to continue to provide services to local children.

The event kicks off on Friday night. In the Anything Butt contest, teams cook a dish that is not barbecue. Past entries have included wings, shrimp and grits, pineapple upside-down cake, and banana pudding.

"They could prepare their favorite dish of anything they wished, except barbecue," noted Joey Edwards, who serves as director of Youth Mentors of the Pee Dee. "They compete in two divisions in this competition: sweet and savory."

South Carolina Barbeque Association (SCBA) judges select winners for each division, and the festival also includes an SCBA-sanctioned barbecue competition.

Members of the public can sample the barbecue from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Judges from the SCBA determine who takes home trophies and cash prizes. Trophies and cash prizes are awarded.

“The Youth Mentors of the Pee Dee BBQ Festival is a South Carolina Barbeque Association-sanctioned event,” Edwards said. “These people travel from event to event to earn points toward the state championship.”