What is it? - A group of people (the "competitors") will cook Ribs (pork), Pork Butt (pulled pork), and Brisket (beef) through the night and early morning hours of the event. The competitors can cook any or all of those items. Given that the competitors will be individuals and not competition teams it's unlikely many will attempt to do all due to space restrictions. So if you're only good at one of those things then by all means sign up. Competitors will necessarily consume large amounts of alcohol in the process and have been given advance reprieves for any untoward behavior they may exhibit. Another group of people (the 'consumers'..get it) will then arrive without having done any work whatsoever and partake in all of the goodness that is BBQ. We'll follow KCBS rules for the most part.
When is it? - We are currently looking at the "spring break" period (generally in mid March). As weather is always a factor in the St. Louis area at that time of the year (short sleeves, Down jacket, or rain slicker?) we'll firm this date up as it approaches and ideally have a backup date.
Where is it? - The event will be in the St. Louis area, but you're welcome to come from as far away as you like. In fact, maybe we'll do something special for whoever travels the furthest. I have a couple of possibilities that we can definitely use (football field sized), and there's always the option of renting an area from a local park, but if you've got a great option by all means suggest it.How is it judged? - We will select members from the local St. Louis twitter community that we feel have some appreciation and in-depth knowledge for the BBQ'ing arts. It will be a blind judging, but those who are willing to judge *and* take bribes for preferential treatment will be prioritized.
How much is it? - Unknown at this time since it is dependent upon the shape and size of the final event. In addition we need to decide if we want to try and make a "profit" that could go to a charity, or to simply try and offset out of pocket expenses. Thoughts on this would be appreciated.Who is doing this? - Matt Ridings and Andrew Veety are organizing this event, however we could use all the help we can get. Lots of skills and access to resources would be great that have nothing to do with BBQ, such as:
- Graphic Design - For things like email invitations, website, t-shirt designs, etc.
- T-shirts
- Infrastructure Organization - Tables, chairs, trash, tents, etc. And no, I don't mean I want you to bring trash, I mean we need a way to collect and dispose of it in a green friendly way.
- Music - This would be great, and there are certainly a lot of us out there with access to some great musicians/bands. From a location perspective however I would have to insure access to a decent amount of electricity close by (or an Unplugged acoustic set will be the order of the day)
- Marketing - This is a tweetup, so we need you to get the word out via your friend network. However, you may want to think twice before inviting that "friend" who wants you to constantly look at the link with her pics
- Other - We'll need hands, brains, and muscles. Feel free to bring one or more of those to the table, but I'd recommend a minimum of at least your hands because let's face it, you'd just look weird without your hands.
