Login / RegisterGastown gears up for weekend barbecue and chili festival
The firstGastown BBQ & Chili Festival happens this Saturday and Sunday (September 1 and 2), with live music and a block-party atmosphere. Carrall Street between Cordova and Water streets will be shut down for the event, which features the Blarney Stone and 11 other Gastown restaurants competing in a variety of categories.
Saturday features the barbecue competition, for which restaurants will be making beef sliders, chicken wings, and ribs. On Sunday, it’s all about chili. Both days, members of the public can buy tasting tickets to sample the dishes and vote for their favourites in each category. Tasting tickets go for $2 plus HST each, or 10 tickets for $20 tax inclusive. One ticket buys one sample. Public tasting and voting takes place from 1 to 5 p.m. both days.
There will also be a celebrity judging panel, which will taste-off at 4 p.m. each day. Judges include Global TV anchor Sophie Lui and Jason Garrison from the Vancouver Canucks.
Saturday also boasts a hot-wing eating competition at 3 p.m. On Sunday at 6 p.m., the Blarney Stone will kick off its third annual Labour Day luau, for which they’ll be roasting a pig outside. A $12 ticket buys you entry to the pub and barbecue pork, coleslaw, and potato salad; $15 gets you a beer as well.
Partial proceeds from food sales will go to the Athletics for Kids charity. See the Blarney Stone for more details.
Follow Carolyn Ali on Twitter at twitter.com/carolynali
