Access to food trucks among changes coming to this year’s ‘Decatur BBQ Fest’

DECATUR — The Decatur Chamber of Commerce gathered at the Decatur Municipal Building on May 25 to discuss the upcoming 69th Decatur BBQ Fest. This year’s event features fan-favorite activities and will include some new additions.

After reviewing last year’s attendance and the comments and concerns from residents, the chamber decided to revamp the event, starting with the name.

This year’s “Decatur BBQ Fest” is set a little later than in past years — on Sept. 2.

The chamber also decided to forgo the chicken dinners.

“I’ve had a lot of people say they’d rather not do chicken dinners,” said chamber president Cody Tosta. “They’d rather go to food trucks.”

Now that the chamber has approved food trucks to replace the chicken dinners, residents won’t need to be concerned with purchasing “raw or burnt chicken.”

The event will include a variety of musical performances, such as the Butler Creek Boys and headliner Austin French. French is an American Christian musician who plays Christian pop-style contemporary worship music. The Butler Creek Boys is a bluegrass and southern gospel band based out of Siloam Springs.

Other events planned for the 69th Decatur BBQ Fest include:

• 69th Decatur BBQ Fest Car Show. Last year, 35 competitors entered the car show. • Residents will again be able to sell their creations at the event’s arts and crafts show. • The “5K Fun Run” will come back this year.

• The cornhole competition will return after last year’s successful turnout. Last year, because of the hot weather, the competition took place inside the Decatur Municipal Building. Fourteen teams competed in last year’s tournament.

• Residents can also look forward to the Decatur BBQ Fest parade. The lineup will start at 1 p.m., and the parade will begin at 1:30 p.m.

• The “Miss Decatur Barbecue Fest” and “Tiny Tots” beauty pageant competitions will also return.

• The event will feature 15-minute firework displays under the watchful eye of the Decatur Fire Department.

Time slots for these events are yet to be determined.