Contest Announcment Green Mountain BBQ Championship, Waterbury VT – June 27-28, 2015

Come Celebrate the Red White & Q in the Heart of Vermont's Green Mountains!!

Besides featuring an annual Saturday morning parade and evening fireworks extravaganza, Waterbury’s Not-Quite Independence Day (NQID) celebration will include a new BBQ Festival over Saturday and Sunday with authentic barbecue, craft brews and live music. More than 3,000 BBQ enthusiasts will come to watch 25+ pit masters from across the region compete in the Green Mountain BBQ Championship – newly sanctioned as a Vermont state BBQ championship by the Kansas City Barbecue Society and pending from New England Barbecue Society. This event supports Rotary Club of Waterbury, a local nonprofit association.

Waterbury is centrally located between Montpelier and Burlington on Interstate 89, and is the home to Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, and the award-winning Alchemist Brewery. It has become a mecca for craft brew aficionados and localvores, and now it will showcase some world-class barbecue!

We are now accepting applications for competitive BBQ and Grilling teams for both Saturday and Sunday. Competitors are invited to vend at the BBQ Festival, but it is not required. More than 25 teams are expected to compete. Guaranteed $3,000 payout, and money will increase with team participation -- more teams means a larger purse.

NEBS Categories: Appetizer, Chicken, Burgers, Vegetarian and alternate category “The Mystery Box”
KCBS Categories: Beef Brisket, Pork Ribs, Chicken, Pork and alternate category Chef's Choice

For more info, visit www.GreenMountainBBQ.com or contact Jeremy Garrett, 802/244-8994, jeremy@J2Levents.com.

We now have almost 30 certified judges, including 7 Master Judges, to participate at this inaugural event. Competitor applications are starting to come in as well, so don't miss out!

We have now received official NEBS sanctioning for this event, which means eligible competitors can earn points towards the NEBS "Ken Dakai Cup”. In addition, because the event is KCBS-sanctioned as a state BBQ championship, eligible competitors can also earn points towards the NEBS "Team of the Year”.

COMPETITORS IN GREEN MOUNTAIN BBQ CHAMPIONSHIP (As of 2.9.15)
Lost Nation Smoke Company -- Essex, VT
Quau -- Brimfield, IL
America's Test Chicken -- Woburn, MA

Slowly but surely as we look forward to spring, the applications are starting to come in, including current American Royal champions Smokin' Hoggz!! Don't miss your opportunity to participate.

Also, we are now wait-listing potential judges until we determine our final team counts.

COMPETITORS IN GREEN MOUNTAIN BBQ CHAMPIONSHIP (As of 3.17.15)

Lost Nation Smoke Company -- Essex, VT
Quau -- Brimfield, IL (2010 Jack Daniels World Champions & 2010 Kansas City Barbeque Society Team of the Year)
America's Test Chicken / Meat@Slims -- Woburn, MA
Squeels on Wheels -- Ludlow, VT
Howling Hog Barbecue -- Randolph, VT
Bluebird BBQ -- Burlington, VT
Smokin' Barrels BBQ -- Fairlee, VT
Smokin' Hoggz BBQ -- Abington, MA (2014 American Royal Invitational Champions & 2011 Jack Daniels World Champions)
Windy Meadows -- Colchester, VT

The Facebook page for the competition is now live and I'll be posting on there regularly with news on the event: [ame="http://www.facebook.com/GreenMtnBBQ"]www.facebook.com/GreenMtnBBQ[/ame]. Please go "Like" the page and tell your buddies.

Another 9 teams are ready to commit, bringing us up to 20 total!

Just finalized some additional discounts today that might impact teams' decision-making process for this summer.

The Lake Placid “I Love BBQ & Music Festival” and Green Mountain BBQ Championship have jointly agreed that any teams who sign up for both events will receive a $15 discount (per event) off regular competition entry fees. So, sign up for both competitions, and save $15 on each one.

Also, any team who pays in full by April 10 for the Green Mountain BBQ Championship will have the Food Vendor fee waived (a $125 value). We appreciate that you want to give our event a shot in its first year, and we want to ensure you have a great, fun experience, so that you’ll return again!

Please contact me with any questions and spread the word! Jeremy Garrett, Jeremy@J2LEvents.com, 802.244.8994 / 802.272.5113 (cell)

Officially at 15 teams, which qualifies us a a Jack draw in our first year. Another 10 teams have also said they're sending in their applications, so we're going to have a great turnout. Don't miss out on this new opportunity!

COMPETITORS IN GREEN MOUNTAIN BBQ CHAMPIONSHIP (As of 3.28.15)

Lost Nation Smoke Company -- Essex, VT
Quau -- Brimfield, IL (2010 Jack Daniels World Champions & 2010 Kansas City Barbeque Society Team of the Year)
America's Test Chicken / Meat@Slims -- Woburn, MA
Squeels on Wheels -- Ludlow, VT
Howling Hog Barbecue -- Randolph, VT
Bluebird BBQ -- Burlington, VT
Smokin' Barrels BBQ -- Fairlee, VT
Smokin' Hoggz BBQ -- Abington, MA (2014 American Royal Invitational Champions & 2011 Jack Daniels World Champions)
Windy Meadows -- Colchester, VT
Up 2 BBQ -- Poultney, VT
Bone Daddy's BBQ -- Bedford, NH
Big Ugly's BBQ -- Perryville, MD
Mo's Backyard BBQ -- Marshfield, VT
Smokin' Bulldogs -- Groton, MA
Cider Boys BBQ -- Hartford, VT

Smokey Sweet BBQ out of Great Barrington, MA, just added to the competitor list.

Also, we've been able to negotiate rates of $100 if you want your own private port-a-potty!

Any teams interested in vending, I'll be glad to extend the Food Vendor waiver until May 1st. Just contact me at Jeremy@J2Levents.com to let me know your contract is coming.

Only three weeks left for the Early Bird Discount for the Green Mountain BBQ Championship (www.GreenMountainBBQ.com). 17 teams already confirmed and another 13 on the way, including several World Champions, so this is going to be a great 1st-year!!

Additional discounts for KCBS/NEBS members, and anyone signed up to compete in Lake Placid. Go to the website or contact me at Jeremy@J2Levents.com for more info.

The Early Bird deadline for the Green Mountain BBQ Championship is May 15 – just one week away. After that, the Late Entry Fee is an additional $50. Go ahead and get your paid applications in and confirm your space.

For the competition, we currently have 17 confirmed and 14 pending teams, including world champions Smokin’ Hoggz of Abington, MA; Quau of Brimfield, IL; and even Big Ugly’s out of Perryton, MD; as well as many other great competition teams from New England and beyond. With all these teams coming in, we anticipate at least $4,000 in Prize Money. And because we have now met our first-year prerequisite of 15 teams, our event will be a 50/50 draw for the Jack Daniels competition.

Five teams will also be vending BBQ, so we’ve got more opportunities on that side as well. With barely any promotion, we’ve already pre-sold 650 public tickets, so we’re well on our way to hitting our 3,000 attendee goal for the weekend of June 27 & 28.

We have just negotiated rates of $100 if you want a private port-a-potty on your site. Also, a reminder that if you are participating in the Lake Placid “I Love BBQ” competition, both events will discount your entry fee by an additional $15 each.

Go to www.GreenMountainBBQ.com or contact me at Jeremy@J2Levents.com for more info.

We'll have a pizza guy, a street taco truck, some "carnival" food like bloomin' onions and fried dough, several ice cream options. But right now all the BBQ vendors are also competing -- working on getting a buddy of mine up from the Philly area to vend, but nothing confirmed. Many of the Vermont BBQ vendors are previously tied up with other catering gigs.

Applications are coming in like crazy now, with 25 confirmed teams and another 12 that are close to committing. Here's our current list of competitors, which includes THREE world champions:

America's Test Chicken / Meat@Slims -- Woburn, MA
Big Ugly's BBQ -- Perryville, MD (Most winning team in history of Mid-Atlantic BBQ; part of 2012 KCBS Team of the Year)
Bluebird BBQ -- Burlington, VT
Bone Daddy's BBQ -- Bedford, NH
Boneyard Smokers -- Deering, NH
Can U Smell My Pits BBQ -- Hudson, NH (2013 New England Barbecue Society Rookie Team of the Year)
Cider Boys BBQ -- Hartford, VT
Flatlander Barbecue -- Barre, VT
Howling Hog Barbecue -- Randolph, VT
Humphrey's BBQ -- West Newfield, ME
Insane Swine BBQ -- Worcester, MA
Lost Nation Smoke Company -- Essex, VT
Mad Mike's Smokin' Hawg BBQ -- Marshfield, MA
Mo's Backyard BBQ -- Marshfield, VT
Nor'Easter Smoke -- Arlington, MA
Quau -- Brimfield, IL (2010 Jack Daniels World Champion & 2010 Kansas City Barbeque Society Team of the Year)
Smokey Sweet BBQ -- Great Barrington, MA
Smokin' Barrels BBQ -- Fairlee, VT
Smokin' Bulldogs -- Groton, MA
Smokin' Hoggz BBQ -- Abington, MA (2014 American Royal Invitational Champion & 2011 Jack Daniels World Champion)
Squeels on Wheels -- Ludlow, VT
​Sweet Breathe BBQ -- South Burlington, VT
Up 2 BBQ -- Poultney, VT
Wicked Good BBQ -- Hopkinton, MA (2009 Jack Daniels World Champion & 2010 New England Barbecue Society Team of the Year)
Windy Meadows -- Colchester, VT

We still have space, so if you haven't already sent in your application, get it in now!