Oct 03 2026

2026 Byron BBQ Fest-Ribpublicans-Grand Champion

Many many thanks to Selina Hall and the team at the Byron Welcome Center and Byron Convention Center . We were at Beautiful North Peach Park for the 4th Annual Byron BBQ Fest. It was the best one yet! The field was 23 strong and the Byron Community came out strong to support the event! Warren Abrams, along with Jerry and Ewa Belcastro did a fantastic job! You guys are great! Congratulations to Ribpublicans Grand Champion and Reserve Champions Free Smoke BBQ. Congratulations to People’s Choice winner B-Rad’s BBQ and 1st Place Stew Out Smokin’.

Reserve Champion: Free Smoke BBQ

1st Place Pork Ribpublicans; 2nd Place Pop’s Smoke on the Hill; 3rd Place Three Brothers BBQ

1st Place Chicken Total Loss BBQ; 2nd Place Pop’s Smoke on the Hill; 3rd Place 51Que

1st Place Ribs Free Smoke BBQ; 2nd Place Ribpublicans; 3rd Place Big Daddy’s Meat House

Sep 17 2026

2026 Doc Holliday BBQ GBA State Championship-I’m Your Huckleberry BBQ-State and Grand Champions

Congratulations to I’m Your Huckleberry on earning both the Grand Championship and the GBA State Championship and Blue Smoke Q on Reserve Champion.

Congratulations to Shark Bite BBQ on the Brisket State Championship and to Mike Ratterree on the Tony Thurston Award (honorable mention Ford Royal).

Thank you Greg Sebastian and his outstanding Rep Team—Assistant Reps Warren Abrams and Edward Vesely, Scorer Lois Sebastian, and Meat Inspector Jim Dehne. Y’all absolutely killed it this weekend! Thank you for your hard work, professionalism, and dedication to the GBA. Thank you to Will Doss and his team for another outstanding contest.

Reserve Champion: Blue Smoke Q

Loin Results: 1st Place I’m Your Huckleberry BBQ; 2nd Place Rustic Que; 3rd Place Big Slick BBQ

Pork Results: 1st Place Off the Chain BBQ; 2nd Place Quenut BBQ; 3rd Place Blue Smoke Q

Rib Results: 1st Place Big Daddy’s Meat House; 2nd Place Grills Gone Wild; 3rd Place Leron’s BBQ

Brisket Results: 1st Place Shark Bite BBQ; 2nd Place Holy Smokes; 3rd Place The Look and the Cook BBQ

Tony Thurston Award: Mike Ratterree (honorable mention Ford Royal)

Aug 24 2026

2026 Sylvester Swine Festival- Off the Chain-Grand Champion

Sylvester Swine Festival is in the books for 2026. Thanks to Karen Singletary for putting on a great contest. Congratulations to Off The Chain for Grand Champion and to Dang Good BBQ for Reserve Grand. Congratulations to everyone who got calls today.

Reserve Champion Dang Good BBQ

Loin Results: 1st Place Heavy Metal Hogz; 2nd Place Big Baer’s BBA; 3rd Place Dang Good BBQ

Pork Results: 1st Place Off the Chain; 2nd Place Dang Good BBQ; 3rd Place Sprat Boy Barbeque

Ribs Results: 1st Place Raising Cain BBQ; 2nd Place Scott’s Smoke Shack; 3rd Place Grills Gone Wild

Loin & Pork Results

Ribs & Overall Results

May 09 2026

2026 Smokin on Blackshear BBQ & Balloons-Grills Gone Wild-Grand Champion

What a weekend to remember! With 31 Pro Teams and 9 IAW Teams, Blackshear was full of smoke, flavor, laughter—and some incredible hot air balloons lighting up the sky.

A huge thank you to Linda Hawkins and the Veterans State Park crew at Georgia Veterans State Park for hosting such a fantastic event. From the beautiful balloon displays to a well-run cook-off, the entire weekend was first-class.

It was an exciting finish with all three category winners still in contention—and a huge congratulations to Grills Gone Wild on their FIRST EVER Grand Championship! That’s a moment no one there will forget.

Reserve Champion Rustic Que

The quality of food was outstanding, and we were excited to award three 600 stickers in the preliminary round: Loin – Rescue Smokers; Pork – Off the Chain; Pork – Against The Grain

Loin Results: 1st Place Grills Gone Wild; 2nd Place Rustic Que; 3rd Place Rescue Smokers

Pork Results: 1st Place Against the Grain; 2nd Place Off The Chain; 3rd Place Big Daddy’s Meat House

Ribs Results: 1st Place 319 Que; 2nd Place Rustic Que; 3rd Place The Look and The Cook

IAW Results

  • Loin – Meat Show
  • Pork – Almost There BBQ
  • Ribs – Meat Show
  • Best of Blackshear – Meat Show

May 09 2026

2026-IAW Whoo Wants Smoke BBQ Competition

The GBA was proud to be in Eatonton, GA for the Whoo Wants Smoke BBQ Competition benefiting The Table Foundation, Inc. — and what an incredible event it turned out to be! Thank you Organizer Otis Harrison!

Hosted at St. John AME Church, the day was packed with:
 2 Church Teams
8 IAW Teams
A couple hundred enthusiastic community supporters

Great music
Free health screenings
Kids’ bounce houses Outstanding People’s Choice BBQ

And when the smoke cleared… People’s Choice SOLD OUT! 👏

7 Foot BBQ Giant took home the People’s Choice Award — congratulations on a big win!

Church Division Champion: L & M Barbecue

 IAW Champion: LeRon’s BBQ

 A big thank you to Jerry and Ewa Belcastro for doing a fantastic job as Assistant Reps—you helped make this event run smoothly!

❤️ Great BBQ. Great people. Great cause. That’s what GBA is all about.