Three Bs of Success: Hundreds attend first-ever BBQ, Blues & Brews

Published 8:35 am Tuesday, September 26, 2017

Months of preparation wrapped up with a region coming together to help restore a local landmark.

The City of Elizabethton was bustling with foot traffic Saturday evening for the inaugural BBQ, Blues and Brews festival at the Covered Bridge Park. Different beer vendors, barbecue restaurants, musicians and organizations joined to help raise money to help with improvements at the Bonnie Kate Theater.

Spearheaded by the Elizabethton/Carter County Community Foundation (ECCCF), a chapter of the East Tennessee Foundation, the event will see the proceeds help restore the roof of the facility.

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For a first-ever event of this magnitude at Covered Bridge Park, the ECCCF was excited to see the fruits of the labor, according to Foundation member and festival co-chair Amos Brown.

“It was a really good night. We had a little over 400 attend,” Brown said Monday.

Brown added it was great to see the involvement from the crowd for the BBQ competition with hundreds participating in the fun. Six restaurants from the region competed in the event with Johnson City’s Southern Craft taking home first-place in the fan voting. Moe’s BBQ finished second while Elizabethton’s J’s Corner took home third place honors.

Due to the success of the event, Brown added the ECCCF is eyeing next year to bring the second installment of the festival.

And the night also provided a way for the region to see what Elizabethton and Carter County had to offer, he added, with attendees able to take in the sights and sounds of the region — and make a trip through downtown to take part in the regularly scheduled Carter County Car Club Cruise-In.

A final total for funds was not available Monday with funds still being tallied.

“There have been some events already going on in the (Bonnie Kate),” Brown recently told the Elizabethton Star. “Our goal is to focus attention to the roof, which is something we’ll need to focus on before making any other repairs.”

Individuals wanting to assist in the restoration of the Bonnie Kate can do so in a variety of ways. Brown encouraged people wanting to assist with upcoming events to visit and like the East Tennessee Foundation Facebook page online to learn more about upcoming projects. The Bonnie Kate Theater is also in the process of unveiling a few events during the fall season. Updates on programs inside the theater can be kept up with by following the Bonnie Kate Restoration Project Facebook page.