The Munfordville Tourism Commission is sponsoring the city’s newest event, the Buffalo Crossing BBQ Cook Off.  This event has been officially sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbecue Society (KCBS) and will be held on October 15-16 in downtown Munfordville.

KCBS, the world’s largest society of barbecue enthusiasts, sanctions about 300 events in 44 U.S. states each year. KCBS provides a representative for each contest and an appropriate number of certified BBQ judges who have been trained in how to judge world-class barbeque, all while using a blind judging process that is fair and void of personal knowledge of teams being judged.

KCBS conducts official competitions at each event in the following categories: chicken, ribs, pork and brisket. The judges evaluate barbeque in three different criteria: taste, appearance and texture.

According to event coordinator Coni Shepperd, the Buffalo Crossing BBQ Cook Off will be offering more than $11,000 in prize money, including a grand champion prize of $3,000. “We are expecting participants to come from all over the U.S.,” says Shepperd.

A special category in the Buffalo Crossing BBQ Cook Off will be bison. The local event will also have vendors who sell barbecue-related items.

“We’re really looking forward to this becoming an annual event that attracts lots of visitors,” says Shepperd. She and Neva Brent and David Williams recently received their KCBS judges’ certification at a training in Eddyville, Ky.

Even though judges for local events come from outside the area, the group was interested in learning about the process so they could help create a professional contest.

For more information about the Buffalo Crossing BBQ Cook Off, contact Coni Shepperd at (270) 524-4752 or conimtourism@scrtc.com.