Happy May 9th!!! Happy belated Cinco de Mayo and Happy Happy Mothers Day to all of you wonderfully beautiful mothers. How could we have so much happiness in one week!?!?!?
The weather was absolutely wonderful this past weekend for the annual Whistle Stop BBQ festival, held at historic Huntsville Depot. How is it that every year Panoply gets the rain and the BBQ gets the sunshine. Maybe we should switch their weekends just to see if the weather holds true for both.
The weekend air was filled with the aromatic aroma of chicken and ribs and all other kinds of meat cooking on the grills from professional and amateur (shade tree) teams. With names like Why ya Grill’n Me Dawg, Boob-B-Que, Smoke Me Silly, Serial Grillers, Hot Coles, Rooters and Tooters and of course the Mayors team – “OOPS”, how could the variety and flavors of the cooked submissions not be as tasty and entertaining.
Competitions amongst teams are as much about the camaraderie and mutual consumption of shared libations as they are about the final product. It may be considered a southern tradition but there is no doubt that all those that cook and compete in BBQ competitions approach it with a spiritual fever, looking to walk away with a call, a place in the top and one of the prized designed trophies. On the other hand, it is also considered a badge of honor to have your submission judged “DAL”, dead ass last!
There was a lot of good local talent scheduled to entertain over the weekend, but for me I was looking forward to the opening night and the headliner, Edwin McCain. Edwin you see is from South Carolina, and from the same area as Darius Rucker, the now famous country music star and former Hootie and the Blowfish. I was a huge fan of his during his claim to fame years and have followed him during his ups and downs. He used to play here at Crossroads when he was playing smaller venues. He started off his set with his huge hit, “I’ll Be” only to have it come to a complete halt when they lost total power on the stage. Once restored, he said if it happened again he would grab an acoustic guitar and come down in to the audience and true to his word, when it happened a second time he was off signing to a small but enthusiastic crowd close to the stage. Luckily the power was restored once again and he was able to finish the evening on stage for all to enjoy!
All and all it was just another exceptional weekend and stellar event hosted by Early Works and the city of Huntsville. And where else, but in the south, could you go to watch a group of adult men and women vying for the grand title of “Alabama Corn Hole Champion?” Well pretty much anywhere in the country – just replace “Alabama” with any other state name.
Whistle Stop is one place you do not mind watching and smelling everything go up in “SMOKE!” Enjoy!!!
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Best Regards …..
~ dennis keim ~
