🍂 Thanksgiving 2026Thanksgiving in Georgia: turkey trots, Helen’s free lighting and rivalry Saturday →Thanksgiving is Thursday, Nov. 26
It's Georgiaitsgeorgia.com
Skip to main content
Search guides, towns, events⌘KFind a place
Thanksgiving in Georgia: turkey trots, Helen’s free lighting and rivalry Saturday 21 days to Thanksgiving
  1. Home
  2. Georgia Barbecue Festivals and Cook-Offs

Georgia Barbecue Festivals and Cook-Offs

Print / Save As PDF

Where To Eat › Barbecue › Barbecue Festivals

Short answer: Georgia’s best-known barbecue event is the Big Pig Jig in Vienna each November, which Georgia law names the official state pork barbecue championship cookoff. Around it runs a year-round circuit of cook-offs sanctioned by the Georgia Barbecue Association, plus a Brunswick stew cook-off in Brunswick. Dates below are only the ones organizers have published.

Trailer smokers puffing smoke at an evening barbecue cook-off on a grassy field, with colored canopy tents, string lights, tall pines and a green 1950s pickup
  • 13Yearly festivalsfrom organizer pages
  • 7Next date publishedas of
  • NovBig Pig JigNovember 6-7, 2026
  • FreeTo listwe take no payment

How we checked: each festival’s own site, Georgia Barbecue Association event pages, visitor bureau pages, Georgia’s state code and our own events calendar. All read on November 4, 2026. Hours, prices and dates change, so confirm with the place or organizer before you drive. Anything we could not read is marked Not confirmed where it appears. We rank nothing: no source we used ranks these places, and we did not taste, rate or compare them. Nobody paid to be listed.

Festivals by Month

Yearly Barbecue Festivals and Cook-Offs

Listed by the month they usually run. Organizer pages are linked; each date is as the organizer printed it.

  • Big Pig JigVienna (Big Pig Jig grounds, 350 Pig Jig Blvd., off I-75 exit 109) · usually November (Friday and Saturday)Georgia law names the Dooly County Chamber of Commerce’s “Slosheye Trail Big Pig Jig” the official state pork barbecue championship cookoff. Its own history page says it began in 1982 with 18 teams cooking whole hogs only. Next date: November 6-7, 2026, per the organizer’s Upcoming Dates page, which also lists November 5-6, 2027. Our event page.
  • Hogs for Housing BBQ CompetitionVienna (Big Pig Jig grounds) · usually November in 2026A cook-off sanctioned by the Georgia Barbecue Association, held at the Pig Jig grounds. Next date: November 13-14, 2026, per the Georgia Barbecue Association event page.
  • Outdoor Classic BBQ Competition And FestivalAshburn (Carroll’s Sausage & Country Store, 315 Whittle Circle) · usually FebruaryA Georgia Barbecue Association cook-off and festival hosted at a country store. Next date: February 12-13, 2027, per the Georgia Barbecue Association event page.
  • Dilly Dally In DoolyVienna (Big Pig Jig grounds) · usually FebruaryA Georgia Barbecue Association contest at the Pig Jig grounds; the association lists it every year from 2017 to 2026. Next date: date not yet announced Not confirmed. Last held: February 27-28, 2026.
  • Brunswick Rockin’ StewbileeBrunswick (Mary Ross Waterfront Park) · usually January or February (a Saturday)A Brunswick stew cook-off and tasting run by the Kiwanis Club, per The Brunswick News, in the town that claims the stew. Next date: February 20, 2027, per the Golden Isles visitors bureau. Last held: January 31, 2026.
  • Sip & Swine BBQ FestivalLawrenceville (Coolray Field) · usually MarchA two-day cook-off sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbeque Society; its site says admission and parking are free and the proceeds go to Home of Hope at Gwinnett Children’s Shelter. Next date: March 5-6, 2027, per its own site. Last held: March 6-7, 2026.
  • Rhythm & Ribs BBQ FestivalTifton (Fulwood Park) · usually Early MarchA Georgia Barbecue Association contest with a festival and music in Fulwood Park. Next date: March 5-6, 2027, per the Georgia Barbecue Association event page. Last held: March 6-7, 2026.
  • Fire Ant Festival BBQ BashAshburn · usually Late MarchA Georgia Barbecue Association contest held during Ashburn’s Fire Ant Festival. Next date: March 26-27, 2027, per the Georgia Barbecue Association event page. Last held: March 27-28, 2026.
  • Sylvester Swine FestivalSylvester (downtown, 102 S. Main St.) · usually AugustA Georgia Barbecue Association contest in downtown Sylvester, listed by the association every year since 2021. Next date: date not yet announced Not confirmed. Last held: August 21-22, 2026.
  • Doc Holliday Festival And BBQ ChampionshipGriffin (Griffin City Park) · usually September (the weekend after Labor Day)A free family festival with Doc Holliday history shows and a Georgia Barbecue Association contest of about 30 teams, per the Griffin-Spalding Chamber. Next date: date not yet announced Not confirmed. Last held: September 11-12, 2026.
  • Byron BBQ FestByron (North Peach Park) · usually SeptemberA yearly barbecue festival with a cook-off held with the Georgia Barbecue Association, per the city’s events page. Next date: date not yet announced Not confirmed. Last held: September 18-19, 2026.
  • The Real Squeal BBQ And Music FestivalLyons · usually Early OctoberA Lyons Main Street festival with a barbecue contest and live music. Next date: date not yet announced Not confirmed. Last held: October 2-3, 2026 (from search listings; the organizer’s page did not load for our reader Not confirmed).
  • Red, White & Blue BBQCanton (American Legion Post 45) · usually OctoberA Georgia Barbecue Association contest hosted by American Legion Post 45. Next date: date not yet announced Not confirmed. Last held: October 16-17, 2026.

On Our Calendar Now

On Our Calendar

1 event on our checked calendar with barbecue in the name, soonest first. Dates and prices were read on the organizer’s own page.

  • November 6–7, 2026Big Pig JigBig Pig Jig grounds, Vienna. Price: See event site.

The Official State Cook-Offs

Georgia law (Official Code of Georgia 50-3-75) names two: the Big Pig Jig for pork and the Hawkinsville Civitan Club’s “Shoot the Bull” for beef. We found no organizer page or current dates for Shoot the Bull, so it is not in the list above Not confirmed The Georgia Barbecue Association, based in Perry, sanctions many of the cook-offs listed here, per its site.

What We Could Not Confirm

  • Next dates for Dilly Dally in Dooly, Sylvester, Doc Holliday, Byron, The Real Squeal and Red, White & Blue: not published when we checked. Not confirmed
  • The Real Squeal’s 2026 dates: from search listings, because the organizer’s page did not load for our reader. Not confirmed
  • Admission for most cook-offs: not stated on the pages we read. Not confirmed
  • Whether Hawkinsville’s Shoot the Bull still runs. Not confirmed
  • Contests sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbeque Society in Georgia: its calendar was not read; only Sip & Swine’s sanction is confirmed on its own site. Not confirmed

Frequently Asked Questions

When is the Big Pig Jig?

November 6-7, 2026, at the Big Pig Jig grounds in Vienna, per the organizer, which also lists November 5-6, 2027. Our Big Pig Jig guide has tickets, parking and the free tasting.

Is there a Brunswick stew festival?

Yes: the Brunswick Rockin’ Stewbilee in Brunswick, a stew cook-off and tasting. The next one is February 20, 2027, per the Golden Isles visitors bureau.

Are the festivals free?

Sip & Swine and the Doc Holliday Festival say admission is free. The Big Pig Jig charged on Friday last year; see our guide. Other pages we read did not state admission Not confirmed

More Barbecue Pages

Sources

  1. Big Pig Jig, Upcoming Dates, read November 4, 2026
  2. Big Pig Jig, History, read November 4, 2026
  3. Official Code of Georgia 50-3-75, as published by FindLaw (state barbecue cook-offs, 1997), read November 4, 2026 (FindLaw copy; the legislature’s own page did not load as text for our reader)
  4. Georgia Barbecue Association, read November 4, 2026
  5. Golden Isles, Brunswick Rockin’ Stewbilee, read November 4, 2026
  6. Sip & Swine BBQ Festival, read November 4, 2026
  7. Griffin-Spalding Chamber, Doc Holliday Festival 2026, read November 4, 2026
  8. City of Byron, annual events, read November 4, 2026
  9. Hogs for Housing BBQ Competition, Georgia Barbecue Association event page, read November 4, 2026
  10. Outdoor Classic BBQ Competition And Festival, Georgia Barbecue Association event page, read November 4, 2026
  11. Dilly Dally In Dooly, Georgia Barbecue Association event page, read November 4, 2026
  12. Rhythm & Ribs BBQ Festival, Georgia Barbecue Association event page, read November 4, 2026
  13. Fire Ant Festival BBQ Bash, Georgia Barbecue Association event page, read November 4, 2026
  14. Sylvester Swine Festival, Georgia Barbecue Association event page, read November 4, 2026
  15. Red, White & Blue BBQ, Georgia Barbecue Association event page, read November 4, 2026

How we check: editorial standards. Spot a mistake or a closure? Tell us.

Cite this page: It's Georgia, “Georgia Barbecue Festivals and Cook-Offs”, itsgeorgia.com/barbecue/festivals/ (updated ). Free to quote with attribution and a link to this page.

Printed from itsgeorgia.com on . Hours, prices and dates can change, so check with the venue before you go.