24th Annual Giant Barbecue Battle American Food and Music Festival MEDIA PACKET Washington, D.C. – You know it’s almost summer in D.C. when the scent of blooming cherry blossoms fades into the hickory sweet aroma of mouth-watering BBQ. That can only mean one thing—it’s time for the area’s tastiest summer celebration, the 24th Annual Giant National Capital Barbecue Battle. Held on the first weekend of Summer, this mammoth festival pays homage to everything BBQ. On June 25 and 26, Pennsylvania Avenue will once again transform into a festival of amazing sights, sounds, and smells. The usual street noise will be replaced by the sound of perfectly tuned guitars, powerful vocals, and soulful melodies. This year’s festival features a wide variety of musical genres including jazz musician Marcus Johnson, EU featuring Sugar Bear, Secret Society, the Muddy Crows, Trouble Funk, Marcus Mitchell, Tweed Funk, Be’la Dona, and many, many more. Over 30 bands will be performing Rock, Reggae, Jazz, Blues, R&B and Go Go on the Pepsi-Lays Sound Stage & Famous Dave’s Music Stage throughout the weekend. The Giant Barbecue Battle is one of the largest and most unique food and music festivals in the country with BBQ teams cooking off for their share of cash and prizes and the title of National BBQ Champion. Celebrity chefs like Myron Mixon and Tuffy Stone from the BBQ Pitmasters TV show will compete smoker to smoker with Grand Champion teams like Historic BBQ from Lebanon Ohio and Pork Barrel BBQ from right here in Alexandria, Virginia. The Giant BBQ Battle features a series of competitions leading up to the main event including The National Pork BBQ Championship, the Australian Lamb Contest, the Perdue Sizzlin’ Chicken Contest, American Beef Cook-Off, Smithfield Rib Championship, and the Grand Daddy of them all, the KCBS Sanctioned Giant National BBQ Championship Contest. In addition, you’ll be the judge as former and current military chefs from the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard cook off in a friendly yet highly competitive “People’s Choice” competition to see whose BBQ reigns supreme. Hungry yet? Well, dig in to flavorful plates of beef brisket, chicken, pork, and lamb prepared by some of the best BBQ restaurants from across the country. Plus, you’ll find lots of free food samples throughout the event site like mini BBQ sandwiches, grilled lamb, beef burgers, hot dogs, ice cream, and more in the Taste of Giant Sampling Pavilion along with great regional treats in the Giant Local Flavors Tent. To cleanse your pallet, shuffle over to Barefoot Beach for free wine samples, the Heineken Beer Garden, or one of the many beverage stands selling ice cold Pepsi products. Families will delight with exhibits & activities for kids of all ages like Nathan’s Famous Mobile Tour, Mr. Peanut’s 100th Anniversary Tour, Colgate Bright Smiles Tour, PNC Family Area, Johnsonville Big Taste “World’s Largest” Grill, the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile, Morning Star Farms “Get Your Veg On” Tour, Wahl Mobile Barbershop, DC Lottery Misting Tent, Ford Sync Tour, the Washington National’s, DC United, Cooking Demonstrations on the Taste of Giant Demo Stage, and much more. Eight-time champion Joey Chestnut will make an appearance on June 25 at the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest. Sure, there’s a lot of fun to be had at the Battle, but it’s for a good cause. This year’s Giant BBQ Battle benefits the USO Metropolitan Washington-Baltimore and the Capital Area Food Bank. The event has raised over 1.7 million dollars in past years for these and other District charities. The event has been named “One of Five Can’t Miss Summer Festivals in the Country” by CNN, a “Top 10 BBQ Event” by the Travel Channel, “One of America’s Best BBQ Competitions” by Saveur Magazine, and “An Event Worth Traveling to” by the American Bus Association. The 2016 Giant National Capital Barbecue Battle is heating up to be the biggest & best yet, so block off the weekend of June 25 and 26 and prepare the whole family for DC’s Festival of Feasting & Fun! Also join us on June 24 (11:30 am - 1:30 pm) at the O Street Market Giant for the Giant BBQ Fundraiser Luncheon. For more info, photos, and event details, visit www.BBQinDC.com, or email Melanie Hosch, PR Director, at [email protected] | 202-488-6990. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram @bbqindc. Opening Ceremony Run of Show Welcome to the 2016 Giant BBQ Battle! Saturday, June 25 11:00-11:25 VIP Reception 11:30-11:35 Marine Corp. Color Guard Posts the Colors 11:35 -11:38 National Anthem Sung by Miss. America or USO 11:38-11:43 Welcome Opening Remarks – Giant Executive 11:43-11:46 Eleanor Holmes Norton, Congresswoman (TBD) 11:46-11:48 Deputy Mayor (TBD) 11:48-11:50 City Councilmember (TBD) 11:50-11:52 USO Representative Speaks 11:52-11:54 National Pork Board Representative 11:54-11:56 Famous Dave’s Presents Ribs 12:00 Rib Cutting The Contest America’s only National Barbecue Cooking Championship with Two Days and Seven Contests offering Cash and Prizes. Teams from across the country will join Pitmasters Myron Mixon, Tuffy Stone, and other celebrity chefs to see who will become the next National BBQ Champion. Myron Mixon Tuffy Stone The Battles BBQ Battle Teams 3 EYZ BBQ Big Bully BBQ Black Cat BBQ Cool Smoke Dizzy Pig Down To Smoke BBQ (DTS BBQ) Dyvine BBQ In Motion Fish Naked Historic BBQ Holdin’ My BBQ Hoos Smokin’ Hot Wachulas Jack’s Old South Just Flame and Flavor Liquifired Creative Bar-B-Crew Mama Mary’s BBQ Mission: PIG-Possible Mudville BBQ Myers Meats Old Town Smokers Old Virginia Smoke Pork Barrel BBQ Team Pörksmith Redneck Scientific Serial Griller Smokey McTasty Sweet T’s BBQ Texas State Championship Winner VM Smoke Wilbur’s Revenge Map & Exhibitors List Exhibitors List Applegate Sausage Tour Military Chefs Cook-off Barefoot Beach Morning Star Way to Veg Tour Big Bite Tour Mountain Dew Kickstart Blue Rhino Nathan’s Famous Hot Dogs Colgate Bright Smiles Tour National Pork Board Tour Captial Area Food Bank Cooking with Kids Nature’s Promise Colgate/Palmolive Sampling Tent The Northeast Beef Council Comcast Technology Tent Omega Recording Studios Cholula Hot Sauce Paige’s Promotion DC Lottery Misting Tent Planters Peanut Tour DC United PNC Tour DCW50 Power Home Remodeling Group Geico Tour Bus Premio Grilling Heinz BBQ Sauce Sabra Sampling Home Fix CR Sundance Vacation Famous Dave’s Stratford University FORD Experience Tour Taste of Giant Sampling Pavilion FORD Sync 3 Tour Thompson Creek Windows Giant Rx The Washington Post Johnsonville Big Taste Grill The Washington Nationals KCBS Great American Cookout USO Metropolitan Washington-Baltimore Liquified Misting Tent Vacation Village Metro Cooling Station WAHL Mobile Tour Metro PCS Wienermobile Mid-Atlantic Bath Solutions Giant Demonstration Stage Saturday, June 25 11:30-12:00 Opening Ceremony 12:00-12:30 Pork Barrel w/ Former Grand Champion Heath Hall 12:45-1:15 Bowls with Balance (Beef Council) w/ Chef Dave 1:30-2:00 Giant Cooking with Kidz 2:14-2:45 Destination America w/BBQ Pitmaster Myron Mixon 3:00=3:45 Savory 4:00-4:30 USO 4:45-5:15 Bowls with Balance Korean (Beef Council) 5:30-6:00 How to Build a Burger w/ Roseda, Bright Farms, Schmidt 6:15-6:45 Perdue 7:00-7:30 Smithfield-Historic BBQ Sunday, June 26 11:15-11:45 Meathead 12:00-12:30 Savory 12:45-1:15 Bowls with Balance Greek (Beef Council) w/ Chef Dave 1:30-2:00 Giant Cooking with Kidz 2:14-2:45 Historic BBQ w/John Gambill 3:00=3:45 Destination America w/ BBQ Pitmaster Tuffy Stone 4:00-4:30 Bowls with Balance Korean (Beef Council) w/ Chef Dave 4:45-5:15 USO 5:30-6:00 How to Build a Burger w/ Roseda, Bright Farms, Schmidt 6:15-6:45 Lamb Main Stages Music Lineup Saturday, June 25 Famous Daves Stage Pepsi Stage Penn. Ave @ 13 ½ St. 12th Street 12:00-1:00 Brent & Co. 12:00-1:00 HyeTension 1:30-2:30 Rising Sun Reggae Band 1:30-2:30 USO Show Troupe 3:00-4:00 FrameWerk 3:00-4:00 Nathan’s Competition 4:30-5:30 I&I Riddim 4:30-5:30 The Muddy Crows 5:45-7:00 Secret Society 5:45-7:00 Marcus Mitchell 7:30-9:00 EU/With Sugar Bear 7:30-9:00 Marcus Johnson Sunday, June 26 Famous Daves Stage Pepsi Stage Penn. Ave @ 13 ½ St. 12th Street 11:30-12:30 Jonathan Celestine 11:30-12:30 Jay Sylvester 12:45-1:45 Allen Chapel 12:45-1:45 Earl Carter 2:00-3:15 Giant’s Got Talent 2:00-3:15 Anthony “Swamp Dog” Clark 3:30-4:30 We Are One Tribute X-Perience 3:30-4:30 Bad Influence 4:45-6:15 Be’la Dona 4:45-6:15 Tweed Funk 6:30-7:30 Trouble Funk 6:30-7:30 Award Ceremony Giant Barbecue Battle Media Day & USO Fundraiser Luncheon CONtact: Media Day (Morning Promotion) Melanie Hosch, Giant Barbecue Battle PR O: 202.488.6990 | C: 301.602.6540 | [email protected] LOcatiON: Giant (O Street Market location) 1400 7th St NW, Washington, DC 20001 (Corner of 8th & O Streets NW) Date/TIME: Media Day Promotion: Friday, June 24 | 7:00 am - 10:00 am Giant USO Fundraiser Lunch: Friday, June 24 | 11:30 am - 1:30 pm GIANT MEDIA DAY EVENT The Giant Barbecue Battle Media Day Promotion will take place in the parking lot across from the Giant Store beginning at 7:00 am on Friday, June 24th and concluding at 10:00 am.