WORLD CHAMPION SMOKE 2023

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Team Applications for #WCBCC23 are open now! Prove you have the sauce to be Grand Champ in the Battle of the Big Hogs and apply today. Space is filling up fast! 🐷👉

BRING ON THE WORLD CHAMPION SMOKE 2023
Teams from over 25 states and several different countries join the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest ranks every year for one reason – to live the first-hand experience of the greatest barbecue competition event on the planet. Teams compete in three different categories during the contest including whole hog, shoulder, and rib. Round up your buddies or coworkers, we’re serious about barbecue ‘round here.

Team application deadline is February 17, 2023.

Due to space limitations, not all applications received will be accepted. Entry preference is given to those who complete this application and remit payment earliest, as well as past World Champions and top winners from the previous year. Teams with a guaranteed entry must submit applications no later than January 6th, 2023 to ensure their acceptance.

Memphis in May International Festival formally announced today that the Beale Street Music Festival and World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest will return to the Memphis riverfront downtown in Tom Lee Park in 2023.

Thanks to City of Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland for interceding and offering a solution to help with the financial implications of moving into a modified event site in Tom Lee Park in 2023. Tom Lee Park is currently under construction as part of a $60 million park redesign from the Memphis River Parks Partnership.

“Mayor Strickland recognized the cultural value and impressive economic impact that Memphis in May delivers for the city of Memphis, and we are grateful for his personal leadership to ensure the festival’s return to our long-term home,” said Leigh Shockey, Memphis in May 2023 Board Chair.

Recognized by USAToday as the “Most Prestigious Barbecue Contest,” the Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest is a four-day competition held in Memphis, TN. Teams representing the best of barbecue that have been honing their craft for years compete for the title of World Champion and a share of the more than $145,000 in prize money. The Contest features championship pork categories of Ribs, Shoulder, and Whole Hog, as well as the ancillary competitions of Hot Wings, Sauce, and “Anything But Pork.”

Remember that it is a CONTEST AND NOT A FOOD FESTIVAL, meaning the barbecue being cooked here is only for the judges, the teams, and their friends, NOT the general public.

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