The City of Pass Christian will host the Coast’s first nationally sanctioned barbecue competition. The Mardi Gras Mambo-cue, as it is called, will be held on February 21, 2009, at War Memorial Park in downtown Pass Christian. In conjunction with the barbecue competition there will also be a festival sponsored by the Pass Christian Chamber of Commerce with music, rides for the kids, food vendors serving a variety of cuisine and other vendors providing wares from arts and crafts to outdoor cooking products. All profit from the event will go to the Pass Christian Recreation Department. The money will be used to rebuild the sports facilities destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.
The Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) is the sanctioning body for this event. KCBS is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting and enjoying barbecue. It is the world's largest organization of barbecue and grilling enthusiasts with over 8,000 members worldwide. The Mambo-cue will attract some of the top barbecue competition teams from across the Country. This is the type event you see on the Food Network. The barbecue competition teams will start arriving on Friday, February 20, 2009, to get checked in, set up and begin their food preparation and cooking. The teams will be required to turn in their finished product in compliance with KCBS Rules and Regulations beginning at noon on Saturday, February 21, 2009, with all entries turned in by 1:30 p.m. – chicken turn in at noon, rib turn in at 12:30, pork turn in at 1:00 and brisket turn in at 1:30.
The renown Flying BBQ Judges, Bryan Beier, Jerry Bressel and Mike Garrison will be flying in from Kansas in their private planes to the Coast to judge the Mardi Gras Mambo-cue contestants (and looking forward to spending time on the Coast). Winners will be announced at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday afternoon. Food, fun and music will follow. The public is invited to visit the competition grounds and view the teams in action. Though the teams are not allowed to sell barbecue to the public during the competition, there will be barbecue available for purchase from the barbecue vendors.
The Mardi Gras Mambo-cue has also been designated by Governor Haley Barbour as a Mississippi State Championship event. Such a designation is extremely significant in the world of barbecue competitors. State Championship designation means that the overall winner of the Mambo-cue, called the Grand Champion, will receive an automatic bid to compete in the American Royal Invitational World Series of Barbecue. The Mambo-cue Grand Champion will also be placed in the lottery drawing for a bid to compete in the Jack Daniels World Championship of Barbecue. You must win a State Championship event in order to quality to compete in these two world championship events.
The Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) sanctions almost 300 barbecue contests coast-to-coast throughout America. From volunteering to actual event production, its members also offer assistance to civic and charitable organizations who organize events.
KCBS serves as a clearinghouse of barbecue information which provides:
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Networking with related trade associations and other contest-sanctioning organizations
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Tracking trends in barbecue related products, and equipment
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Teaming up with other food organizations and the media to promote barbecue.
With its library, and extensive archive of barbecue related articles, KCBS offers educational programs, consultation services, and civic organization presentations to help promote barbecue as America's Favorite Cuisine.
For more information, please contact Skip Negrotto at snegrotto@gmail.com or call 228-323-2789.
St. Paul’s Carnival Association Mardi Gras Parade will roll on Sunday, February 22, 2009.
