Lisa Oneal

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.

Mar 31 2026

2026-Fire Ant Festival-Off the Chain takes Grand Champion

The Fire Ant Festival is in the books! Congratulations to Off the Chain on winning back to back Grand Champions, and Big Baer’s BBQ for winning Reserve Champion. We had 9 different teams making finals. Congratulations to all who walked.

Grand Champion: Off the Chain – (Cooking with Off the Chain -accepting the award Ewa Belcastro)

Reserve Champion: Big Baer’s BBQ

Loin Results: 1st Place-Off the Chain; 2nd Place- Union Street BBQ; 3rd Place- Pig-EEE-licious

Pork Results: 1st Place- Shark Bite BBQ; 2nd Place-Bad Rooster BBQ; 3rd Place- The Look and The Cook

Rib Results: 1st Place- Rustic Que; 2nd Place- Big Baer’s BBQ; 3rd Place Grills Gone Wild

Chicken Results: 1st Place- Flaming Hogs BBQ; 2nd Place- Off the Chain; 3rd Place- Bad Rooster

Mar 31 2026

2026-IAW-Hawkinsville BBQ Cook-Off & Karaoke Contest-5 Teams competed

GBA BRINGS THE HEAT TO HAWKINSVILLE!

What a weekend at the Hawkinsville BBQ Cook-Off & Karaoke Contest! The Georgia BBQ Association rolled into the Harness Training Center ready to cook, laugh, and make memories—and that’s exactly what happened.

We may have only been five teams strong under the arena, but don’t let the numbers fool you… the flavor, camaraderie, and FUN were off the charts!

A huge shoutout to our host Aaron Colley for the hospitality and for inviting the GBA to enjoy the Arena! We are hoping to come back even stronger next year! If we do, you want to plan to be there!

And special appreciation to Brian Bond and Jim Dehne for keeping everything running smooth and steady all weekend long.

Chicken Wings Results: 1st Place- Free Smokes BBQ; 2nd Place- Smoke Ring BBQ; 3rd Place- J.Piggy’s BBQ

Pork Results: 1st Place Flaming Hogs BBQ; 2nd Place Free Smoke BBQ; 3rd Place J. Piggy’s BBQ

Brisket Results: 1st Place- Free Smoke BBQ; 2nd Place- Smokin’ AJ’s; 3rd Place- J. Piggy’s BBQ

Mar 16 2026

2026 Firehouse BBQ Festival-Grand Champion Off the Chain

The 2026 Firehouse BBQ Festival is in the books. Thank you to Keith Bowen and Torrie with the Donalsonville Downtown Development Authority for always hosting a great event and the awesome Fish Fry for the teams and judges on Friday night. If you have never cooked this event it is worth the drive.

Congratulations to all who got calls today. Grills Gone Wild triple finalled today and won Reserve Champion and the Grand Champion went to Off The Chain BBQ.