Daytona Beach Barbeque Festival

I had the opportunity to attend the Daytona Beach Barbecue Festival tonight and have to say I was a little disappointed. They had a great crowd attending the event, which speaks to the need for such festivals in the Daytona Beach area. However, there were not enough vendor selling barbecue to allow people to sample good barbecue. I knew we were in trouble when we parked a ways away and we did not smell any smoke on our walk to the festival. This led me to believe we were not going to be pleased with what we found once we got there.

My buddy Gary joined me with this son Vuk and we cruised the entire festival before making a choice on what we should eat. Unfortunately, given the limited numbers of vendors, the lines were very long and did not seem to be worth the wait. There were a couple of true contenders there that had the longest lines as they were actually cooking meat at the time people were trying to purchase food. Big props to Gaff's Meats and the Renaissance Restaurant for their efforts tonight as it seemed they were cooking great barbecue and had the longest lines. There food offerings looked great, but due to the overall lack of vendors, they were not able to serve customers in a very timely manner. Waits were long, but I do not know whether or not they were worth it. I can say I think they were as I saw the food they were serving and it looked tasty.

I do not want to sound negative about this festival as I think the City of Daytona Beach is doing a great job to provide events for residents and visitors that will bring people into the city. I just think there are some things that need to be addressed to make this more of a success.

1. Was Beach Street closed off early enough to give vendors time to start cooking food to have it available for attendees?

2. What are the costs to vendors to set-up a booth at the festival?

3. Does it make sense to invite professional barbecue competitors to attend to raise the bar on the food available?

4. Can more tables and chairs be set--up to provide adequate seating for people looking to eat their barbecue selections?

5. How can they add more children's activities to make this event more family friendly?

The bands they had playing were cool and the crowd seemed to be having a great time. However, at the end of the day, I think people want to attend and sample some great barbecue. This festival has great potential given the crowd that was there tonight if they can attract more barbecue vendors to feed the masses.

I look forward to attending this event next year and maybe even being a vendor myself. Stay tuned for more information about me and Gary possibly setting-up a booth next year.

Eat, drink and be merry!

Harry