Ottawa’s Smoketober Fest & BBQ Competition is Oct. 12

It’s an afternoon of rib tasting, whiskey and bourbon tasting and more at the third annual Smoketober Fest & BBQ Competition from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 12 at the Jordan Block in downtown Ottawa.

According to the Ottawa Visitors Center, brisket will be added to this year’s BBQ Competition, in addition to chicken, pork and ribs. Save room for dessert from Front Street Creamery, which will be selling apple pie ala mode and peaches and cream ice cream.

“Smoketober Fest is a backyard barbecue competition that allows our chefs to show off their cooking skills. We have a panel of judges that blindly get to taste the entries and score their favorites for each category,” said Donna Reynolds, tourism operations manager at the Ottawa Visitors Center. “The People’s Choice Award for ribs returns again this year, allowing everyone to join in the fun to pick their favorite ribs. They are able to vote by purchasing tasting tickets which are very limited tickets.”

The event will also feature plenty of whiskeys and bourbons to taste, as well as the Old Rip Van Winkle Bourbon Raffle. The bourbon is 10 years old, and bottled at 107 proof. The bourbon, which is distilled in Kentucky, offers complex flavors of both spice and sweet. Raffle tickets are $20 per entry for the bottle that is estimated to be worth about $1,500, according to the Ottawa Visitors Center website.

Enjoy music from the Ashton Creek Band from 1 to 5 p.m., and try your hand at axe throwing or bag throwing, which return this year.

Proceeds from this event will go toward the Ottawa Exploreum Children’s Museum.

For more information, visit visitottawail.com/event/ottawas-smoketober-fest.