Foodstock, grilling competition makes Somerset the hot place to be Saturday

Apr. 26—Can you smell that in the air? The unmistakable, mouth-watering aroma of something delicious on the grill?

It's time for Foodstock — and the Somerset Smoke Show Grilling Competition.

The event will take place in downtown Somerset from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and is free to the public.

While the former has become a new tradition in the streets of downtown Somerset, the latter is something new — and something that's drawing a lot of attention from big names outside of Pulaski County.

"We are so excited to bring back our fifth year of Foodstock and all the excitement that brings," said Leslie Ikerd, City of Somerset Director of Tourism. "It's an homage to the Derby, but it's also kind of a kick-off to our tourism season."

Indeed, the Kentucky Derby, which is just a little over a week away, has become a thematic component of Foodstock. One of the most notable days on the Kentucky calendar, elements of horses and Mint Juleps and other elements associated with the annual racing event are celebrated during Foodstock in late April.

"We're excited to get everybody out after a long winter, get them together as a community, and celebrate all the things that we've accomplished throughout the year," said Ikerd.

Foodstock boasts over 35 food vendors this year, the largest number it's had yet, according to Ikerd. Meanwhile, downtown businesses that open for the occasion, the various stores and restaurants that populate the area around the Fountain Square and beyond, also benefit from the event, she noted.

"One of the perks of being downtown businesses is that you get to be a part of these festivals, and many reap the benefits of that," said Ikerd.

There will be a bountiful harvest of food trucks, which is always the highlight of Foodstock, featuring a variety of offerings from savory to sweet. Scheduled food trucks include Get Ur Smoke On, City Slicker Dawgs, Cookie Dough Bliss, Summit Meats, Shakes & Cakes, West Sixth Brewing, Megan's Sweet Treats, Tom's Travelin' Coffee, Little Donut Trailer, R&D Concessions, Scoop Bug Ice Cream & More, Koffee Pig, Tap on Main, Gold Star Chili, Chilling and Grilling, Ladonna's Candy Kitchen, Cave Hill Winery & Vineyard, Zimmerman's Famous Pig, Mac Chaos, Bert's Speakcheezy, Jarfly Brewing, Hendrickson Kettle Corn, Roy's Jamerican Grill, Ruckel's, A1 Ice Cream, Matilda's Dogs and More, Eddie's Roasted Corn, Crazy Eatz, Tacos Tanacos, and Somerset Cocktails.

Other vendors, for those whose stomachs are already satisfied, include Design Addiction, Bailey Kate, Friends of the Earth Macrame, Little Patch of Heaven, Clay Hill Art, and Lifted Spirits.

While admission is free to Foodstock, those wishing to purchase alcoholic beverages must buy a $5 spirit wristband at one of the entrance gates.

In addition to the food, artistic efforts have always been a key part of the Foodstock experience. Visual artists like Amanda Brooks, Megan Bradley, Earth + Wind Creative, The Shine House, Kristy Salley, Jeff Scribner, Anita Stigall, and Jacob Wilson will making their creations live throughout the day, on a Kentucky Derby theme.

"Anything that you would see at the Kentucky Derby (will be the subject) — it could be hats, ties belts, jockeys, silks — pretty much anything you can put your eyes on that has the Derby theme to it but with a little bit of Somerset flair," said Ikerd. "We're Kentuckians and we celebrate the greatest two minutes in sports."

Also, this year's busker contest will take place inside the Tipsy Toad and Jarfly Brewing Co. Those who want to vote for their favorites can scan the QR code inside — or on the outside windows — of each establishment to do so.

The music schedule is as following:

At the Tipsy Toad:

11 a.m.: Jared Shoemaker

1 p.m.: Marley Edmunds

3 p.m.: Logan Purcell

5 p.m.: James Foster

7 p.m.: Jadan Trammell

At Jarfly Brewing Co.:

12 p.m.: Dylan Forester

2 p.m.: Kevin Thomas

4 p.m.: Annie Boek

6 p.m.: Josh Secrest

8 p.m.: Dylan Rose

"If you're someone who wants to stay around and hear the artists play all day, you can travel back and forth throughout the day and be able to hear all the artists before you vote," said Ikerd. "... You're not going to have any overlap."

Enhancing the food-centeredness of this year's Foodstock is the Somerset Smoke Show Grilling Competition, a live showdown between local grilling aficionados. The City of Somerset is partnering with ProTrade Hardware and Baney's Bangin' BBQ Sauce to make the event possible.

The competition consists of 12 contestants or teams who will compete against one another to win the title of Grill Master. They are provided a tent, table, grill, some supplies and 2 racks of ribs. Contestants will show up and cook the ribs on site, then submit their ribs at the designated time for judging. Winners will be announced at 6 p.m.

Fans of the big names in the grill game will want to take part, even if the contest roster is already full, as Traeger Grill pro and award-winning pitmaster Keith Harris will be on the main stage throughout the day, teaching free classes on effectively grilling all kinds of meats, and representatives from Big Green Egg and Weber will also take the stage to teach some BBQ shop classes.

At noon, Somerset Mayor and gubernatorial candidate Alan Keck will take part in "Wood Fired Steak & Politics: A Traegar Masterpiece That Will Definitely Get Your Vote." Pulaski County Agricultural Agent T.J. Adkins will have a demo on "Meat Science: Choosing the Best Cuts" at 12:45.

Performance Food Service Chef John Arnold will give a presentation on smoking and grilling chicken wings, and Keith Harris will tackle pulled pork at 2:15 p.m. Big Green Egg representative Mark Syoen will tutor visitors on that unique brand of grill at 3 p.m., 4:30 p.m. and 5:15 p.m., while Harris at 3:45 will take a look at spatchcock chicken.

The classes are free and open to everyone.

"It will be educational but fun," said Ikerd. "Some of those sponsors and businesses will have small samples to try of what they've made, so I think it will be a neat opportunity to really deep-dive into food."

Kentucky food blogger JC Phelps of JCPEats and his winning smile will be on hand to host the event Saturday, and will put Somerset in the spotlight for his own followers — more than a million of them.

"The amount of people that he is able to communicate to is quite beyond what I can do in a general year," said Ikerd. "... He's a wonderful person and does a great job at what he does, and promote Kentucky tourism across the state, specializing on food.

"... We really look forward to him being there, as well as celebrity judges from all over Kentucky that are showing up and being part of the event. The neat thing about that is, they advertise and market for us that they're going to be there, so (Foodstock) is really going statewide and beyond."

And yes, those judges include Somerset's own John "Johnny B." Perkins, the go-to name in BBQ in this area for years.

While the event is growing and going beyond local borders, it's still all about Somerset and what makes this community great. Ikerd is excited for the weekend, and to see what everyone involved can cook up for the people of Pulaski to ignite the summer tourism season.

"It looks like the weather is going to be great, and we're just thrilled to have the opportunity to be able to host this event in Somerset," said Ikerd. "I really want to give thanks to Mayor Keck. He had this vision in 2019 to have downtown come back to live through revitalization and free community events and he's accomplished just that. He allows me to do my job, and if I have something that we want to do, we do it. ... Free community events are unheard of, and I just want to thank him for all he's done for Somerset and for downtown."