The city of Roanoke will be welcoming 15 award-winning pitmasters from across the country to historic Oak Street to showcase their skills as part of the city’s inaugural For The Love of BBQ Pitmaster Showcase on Aug. 14.

The live event will feature food, music and beer and includes a rib-eating contest and a raffle to win wagyu beef, a specialty beef produced in Japan.

Visitors are encouraged to purchase tickets ahead of time to guarantee entry and food samples.

General admission tickets are on sale for $50, which includes unlimited tastings and one drink ticket. There are also $40 tickets for unlimited tastings only, without a drink ticket.

The event is free to attend for those wanting to watch and enjoy the live music.


Confirmed pitmasters include:
  • Smiley’s Barbecue
  • Bad Wolf BBQ
  • Hard Eight Pit BBQ
  • Hill Barbecue
  • Hurtado Barbecue
  • Panther City BBQ
  • Pullin Premium BBQ
  • Rossler’s Blue Cord Barbecue
  • Brett’s Backyard Bar-B-Que
  • Smoking Windmill BBQ
  • Blood Bros BBQ
  • Dayne’s Craft Barbecue
  • Smoke&Biscuit
  • Mimsy’s Craft Barbecue
  • Wright On Tacos and BBQ
According to Mary Jo Tellin—administrator for special events, marketing and tourism for Roanoke—the event was originally planned to take place on Valentine’s Day.

“With COVID-19 and different things happening, we couldn’t do it last February,” Tellin said. “If everyone likes it, we’ll do it every Valentine’s Day [going forward].”

For more information about the event, visit www.roanoketexas.com/forthelovebbq.