B4BBQ is a hometown team back for their third time at the festival. They call themselves the &dquo;Tenders of the Ugly Pig.&dquo; They just started two years ago and came away with a top 10 finish in pork at Maggie Valley in that first year. Last year they were sixth in the Tryon festival&39;s Anything But competition. They&squo;ve had several top 10 finishes in pork and chicken, but are still looking for that first first.

Foothills Mountain Bar-B-Que is a local team that will be selling directly to the public. This is their 11th year in Tryon under the leadership of Paul Dale. The team finished first in chicken here last year.

Dale also does BBQ catering for the surrounding Tryon area and has become a local institution for good food. Foothills won the N.C. State Poultry Championship in 2000 and is hoping to capture another state award at this year&39;s event.

Somewhere between all the BBQ events and has catering business, Paul has been known to sling a paint brush at any building that will stand still for 10 seconds or more.