May 12—The inaugural "BBQ and Barrels" event will make its debut in downtown Owensboro this weekend.

Described as a "celebration of our past, our present and our future (by) bringing together two of Owensboro's greatest traditions" of barbecue and bourbon, the new event stems from the International Bar-B-Que Festival that began in 1979 and evolved over the years to include live music, pagants, car shows and more.

And after a few years of different variations of the festival, all the of traditional events, such as the Backyard BBQ Cookoff, church cooking teams, carnival rides, a 5K and more, will be brought back this year.

But this year, there will be a ticketed bourbon event at the Owensboro Convention Center, which includes bourbon tastings, food pairings and educational classes.

Dave Kirk, destination management director for Visit Owensboro, is looking forward to continuing the tradition with a new twist in hopes of bringing in large crowds.

"The name was International Bar-B-Q Festival, and we really wanted to bring back the fact that we wanted to attract all people across the U.S.," he said, "and with the bourbon element through a ticketed event, we can track where these tickets are being bought from."

Thirty-six distilleries have been announced to take part in the event: 18th Street Distillery; Angel's Envy; Backbone Distilling Company; Bard Distillery; Barrel House Distillery; Bardstown Bourbon Co.; Bluegrass Distillers; Broadleaf Whiskey; Castle & Key Distillery; Driftless Distillery; Fresh Bourbon; Four Roses; French Lick Distillery; Good Trouble Bourbon; Green River Distilling Co.; Hard Truth Spirits; Heaven Hill; Hotel Tango Distillery; Hemingway Whiskey; Indiana Whiskey; O.H. Ingram Bourbon Whiskey; Jefferson's; Jeptha Creed; KY 10 Bourbon; Maker's Mark; Lexington Brewing & Distilling Co.; Log Still Distillery; Old Steelhouse; Pinhook; Penelope Bourbon; Pursuit Spirits; RD1 Spirits; Starlight Distillery; Three Boys Farm Distilling (Whiskey Thief Co.); Watershed Distillery and Western Kentucky Distilling Co.

Kirk said purchased tickets show patrons will be traveling in from Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina and Washington, among others.

"That is proof that adding this bourbon element is really getting back to a truly national event, which is what I think we'll have here this (weekend)," he said. "It's so exciting to kind of revitalize something and to grow it."

As of Wednesday, Kirk said there were about 52 tickets available out of the 500 being sold for the bourbon portion of the festival.

"We talk a lot about bourbon, and we should because it's obviously a big thing in Kentucky, and we have over 36 distilleries ...," he said. "In a first-year event to have that kind of success (in sales) ... has been amazing ...."

But barbecue will still be a big part of the equation, as Kirk said there will be "almost 20 barbecue vendors."

Local church cooking teams from Blessed Mother, Our Lady of Lourdes, Precious Blood and St. Mary of the Woods will be on site selling burgoo, chicken, pork and more, while local barbecue entities such as Old Hickory Bar-B-Que, Ole South Bar-B-Q, and Moonlite Bar-B-Q Inn will be on-site selling some of their staple items.

Additional barbecue vendors will include C & W BBQ, Curbside Kitchenette, Fresh Out the Kitchen BBQ, Follow the Smoke BBQ, J's Good Grub, Juicy Butts BBQ, Lure Smoke Shack, On Time BBQ, Owensboro Brew Bridge, Roll Ride BBQ, Slick Back BBQ and T and T Barbecue.

"That's the most we've ever had," he said. "As a perspective, I think a lot of people have thought: 'Oh man, this whole bourbon thing is taking over.' No, it's just making it better. To have nearly 20 barbecue vendors is truly spectacular."

"We're excited about (the event)," said Tim Ross, the city's director of public events. "There's lots of energy going into it (with adding) in the bourbon element to the event, but in addition to focusing back on the barbecue.

"There's a history of barbecue on the second weekend in May that has been that way for decades here in Owensboro."

Other food and beverage vendors include Chaney's Dairy Barn, CoCo Bongos, Goodwood Brewing, Hello Pop, Kings Kettle Corn, Kona Ice, Squeeze-E's Lemonade, Sweet-D-Licious Kettle Corn and Will's Chills & Little Jimmy's Italian Ices.

Kirk also highlighted additional business the event can potentially generate.

"For our downtown merchants, restaurants and boutiques that are open ... during the operating hours I think will be fantastic," he said.

Kirk encourages people that might have some reservations about the changes to see what the event is all about.

"We want to create something that is not only going to attract people from as far away as Washington state, but (it's also) vital that our locals enjoy this," he said. "Anytime you have something with change, people are always a little hesitant. ... To those that might still be a little hesitant, I would just say: 'Come down this weekend.'

"We're working so hard; and when I say 'we,' I mean the city workers that are putting out all the electrical, our local barbecue restaurants, our barbecue restaurants from out of town, our backyard cooks, our church parishes — everyone is working really hard to make something special, and I think you owe it to yourself to see what you think of this year's event, and then you be the judge."

"BBQ and Barrels" will take place from noon to 10 p.m. today, May 12, and from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, May 13.

For more information, visit bbqandbarrels.com.