This food festival in Vienna, Georgia began as a barbecue cooking competition among a group of local self-professed gourmets. After it merged with a well-attended arts and crafts fair and the county’s livestock association annual hog show, the event simmered its way into regional fame and international awareness.

The event now features more than 80 competition barbecue teams, original music acts, a livestock contest, the Miss Pig Jig pageant, arts and crafts and, of course, the barbecue.