Daniel Prince
Ten BBQ teams have already signed up, with more expected
The Uniquely Union festival is returning to Union County this year after several years’ absence. The event was last held in 2016. It will be returning to downtown Union on Friday, September 16, and Saturday, September 17. It will open that Friday from 4-10 p.m., and it will go from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday. Organizers Jami Trammell, Kacie Petrie, and Tubo Owens were on WBCU recently to talk about the festival.
At least ten teams have already signed up to participate, but organizers hope to recruit more. The Southern BBQ Network will be the sanctioning body for the cookoff. The grand champion will receive $2000 and a trophy. The reserve grand champion will get $1000 and a trophy, and money and trophies will be awarded for 1st through 4th place in the chicken and pork categories, as well. They will have a non-sanctioned category for pork ribs. They are also bringing back the popular Anything Butt contest, with anything except chopped pork accepted, whether sweet or savory. They will also have a Kidz Que competition in beef and chicken for kids to get in on the cooking. The Taster’s Choice award will be given out, as well. Teams will have samples for the public to taste and vote on their favorites, with the winner receiving $200.
They will have food and merchandise vendors set up around the festival. Entertainment on Friday will feature Quest and Mighty McFly. Saturday’s lineup will include the Miss Uniquely Union Beauty Pageant, a magic show with Jack Roper, Jazzy Humphries and Jesse Gregory, TJ Jeter, and Soul Function, featuring Travis Worthy, who is from Union. A Kidz Zone will be set up with mechanical rides and inflatables both days. They will also have a doughnut eating contest for kids on Saturday afternoon.
New to the festival is something called Lounge 864. Jami Trammell tells us more about that:
(audio below story)
It will feature axe throwing, a 360 photo booth, patio pong, corn hole, and a fire pit and lounge area. For information on the festival, go to uniquelyunion.com or look for Uniquely Union on social media.