Press Releases
Hermann BarBQ & Brats Festival To Be Biggest Ever
Release Date: September 19, 2007
For more information: Olan Stemme, 573-486-3137 or Jim Grebing 573-486-8995
Nearly 50 teams have signed up to compete in the 3rd Annual Hermann BarBQ & Brats Festival, scheduled for September 28-29 in the Lower City Park. This is a Kansas City Barbeque Society sanctioned event, and participants will represent seven states.
A large number of entries are also expected in the Backyard Chef division of the festival on Saturday, which provides an opportunity for cooks to bring their small grills and compete for cash prizes.
There will be over $7,500 in cash and prizes awarded, along with a Mayor’s Award for Showmanship and a People’s Choice Best of Bratwurst-Buck-A-Brat.
Activities are planned for the entire family. There will be musical entertainment both evenings, including a BarBQ Bonfire with karaoke by Vernon Kohlbusch from 7-10 p.m. Friday, and a performance by Badlands from 6:30-11 p.m. Saturday. Events for kids are scheduled all day Saturday, including a KidsQue competition. There will also be plenty of food and beverages available, a number of vendor booths and displays, and there will be an opportunity to watch some of the finest barbecue cooks in the Midwest display their grilling skills. A Washers Tournament will begin at 2 p.m., with registration starting at 1:00; cash prizes will be awarded.
“We are really excited about how this festival is coming together in only its third year,” said Olan Stemme, co-chair of the event. “We have nearly doubled the number of KCBS cooks over the past three years and these teams really enjoy coming to Hermann because our event is in a beautiful town and our city park provides a great place for their entire family to enjoy the weekend. This really is becoming a quality festival in the Hermann tradition.”
Admission is $5 and good for both days. The opening ceremony will be at 6 p.m. Friday and continues until 11. On Saturday the gates open at 8 a.m. and awards will be presented at 5 p.m.; however, activities will continue until 11 with Badlands performing.
Another co-chair, Caroll Scheidegger, added: “I think our KidsQue event on Saturday morning and the World Class Kids Events really make our KCBS event distinctive from many of the others. We really want to provide fun for the entire family.”
Scheidegger explained the KidsQue will begin at 8:45 featuring hamburgers and bratwurst. Meat and grills will be provided and there will be categories for ages 5-10 and 11-15. Volunteers from the Hermann Fire Department and the Chamber of Commerce will assist the contestants. Other “world class” activities for kids during the event, from noon to 4 p.m., include: pumpkin painting, hog calling, bratwurst decorating, a charcoal relay, a nickel scramble in the sand pile, and a pedal tractor pull.
There is no entry fee for the KidsQue, however, participants are encouraged to enter in advance because participation is limited to 20. But if advance registrations do not exceed that, youths can sign up Saturday morning starting at 8 a.m.
A limited number of spaces are still available in the KCBS contest, but there are plenty of spaces available for Backyard Chefs. The Backyard Chef event, featuring categories for pork steaks and pork ribs, will have registration from 8-11 a.m. and the fee is $25 per event. Backyard competitors can also enter the bratwurst, wings, sauce, and “anything but” categories with entry fees of $25 per event. To compete in those events, registration must be completed Friday afternoon.
Categories for this year’s KCBS competition include chicken, ribs, pork shoulder, beef brisket, bratwurst, chicken wings and BBQ sauce made with and/or best served with Hermann wine. A new “Anything But” Category has been added for this year. All categories are scheduled for Saturday, except wings, anything but and sauce, which are Friday evening.
“Visitors will have a chance to see these grilling teams in action and learn from them - some have very interesting cooking rigs and are quite entertaining,” said Co-Chair Mike Sloan. “We will also have great food, entertainment and activities throughout the weekend. It is fun for the whole family.”
Entry forms are available at the Hermann Chamber of Commerce Office, 312 Market Street, on the web at www.hermannmo.info, or by calling 573-486-2313.
The Hermann Area Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring the BarBQ & Brats Festival. Also supporting the event are Swiss Meat & Sausage Co., Miller Beer/Calvin Distributing, the Hermann Wine Trail, Fire King Charcoal/Struemph’s, Laser Light Technologies, Tri County Trucking/Excavating, L&S Equipment, MFA Coop Mercantile, Heritage Agency - Real Estate & Insurance, and the City of Hermann.
