LEXINGTON, N.C. — Every year, Lexington transforms into barbeque central, drawing a couple hundred thousand people to the festival to get a taste of the famous barbecue sandwich. Countless businesses line the streets, banking on festivalgoers to bring them the business they've been looking for all year.
For many of the 250 vendors here, the Lexington Barbecue Festival is their way of ending festival season with a bang. City leaders expect it to rake in nine million dollars for the city, providing a much-needed boost for many vendors.
"Honestly, our biggest show that we do out here. We're both super excited to come out here. It's our third time doing it, love it every time we've been out here," said Zach Tignor, who owns Z&B Creations.
Nine blocks of businesses, both big and small, line the streets.
Jason Caldwell sells his deer scents at festivals across the country, but this is his first time setting up a booth at this festival. He said it got so busy, the store's cash registers couldn't keep up.
"We're just trying to get into new markets and see new customers. So far, so good. Yeah, we've had a great day. Been very busy," Caldwell said. "In fact, we can't even run Square or anything because of all the people shutting down the service."
For others, like Patricia Neal, who owns Divine Lemonades, she said she's used to the busyness that is the Lexington Barbeque festival. This marks her fourth time as a vendor, and every year, she stocks up on every flavor.
"They bring wagons to put the gallons in, and they just get as much as they can get while I'm here," Neal said. "The people are so loving and they embrace my lemonade, and we sell out every time we come. So I'm just thankful and grateful."
For second-year returners like Janee Jarrell, the festival has significantly boosted her and her husband’s brand. So much so, they added an extra booth just for cotton candy.
"Last year our winning product was our cotton candy," Jarrell said. "So this year we set aside a separate tent just for cotton candy. Since we are ice cream, we are going into the colder part of the year, the winter. After this, we kinda slow down a little bit. So this is our last hurrah."
While the 40th annual BBQ festival is now in the books, businesses here aren’t slowing down. Many told WFMY News 2 they're already starting to prepare for next year's event.
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