After over a week of public discussion and angst, the Blue Ridge Barbecue Festival may be scaled back to a much smaller local event, Carolina Foothills Chamber of Commerce president Andy Millard said Friday evening.
Millard and other chamber and festival leaders met with Polk County and Tryon officials for three hours Friday evening to go over the BBQ festival budget line by line. After three hours, Millard said the proposal which seemed to gain some consensus was for a “lean, green and local” event, with local barbecue cookers, crafters and musicians represented.
The name of the event may be changed and it probably will not be a Kansas City Barbecue Society sanctioned competition, he said.
The size of the event and expected lower attendance it is expected will allow the chamber to run a much smaller budget.
Millard said the festival steering committee will meet this coming Thursday to begin discussing the possibilities for the new BBQ festival.