LEXINGTON, N.C. — The 38th annual Lexington BBQ Festival is back this year and set to be bigger than ever after taking a two-year hiatus because of COVID-19.
The city of Lexington says they have taken a hit economically without the festival.
The festival will take place Saturday on Main Street and businesses tell out WFMY News 2's Amber Lake that they are ready for the economic boom.
The Lexington Visitor Center said the festival has an economic impact of about 9 million dollars in local revenue making it a huge deal for the city.
Some businesses say it's their busiest day of the year.
With over 200,000 people expected to make their way out Saturday, local vendors like Barbecue Center are preparing ahead of time.
Owner, Michael Conrad said they are preparing over 2500 pounds of BBQ for Saturday. That will be added to the altogether nearly 10,000 pounds expected for visitors to enjoy.
Conrad said there's one thing that sets Lexington BBQ apart from anywhere else and that's the sauce. "It’s all in the sauce, the meat, the way we prepare it. We still cook it over hickory coals, it doesn’t compare to anything else.“
Conrad said his favorite part about the festival is being able to see people out in the community supporting local businesses. “I think that’s one day of the year that the hotels are at full capacity and then even non-barbecue restaurants have a good day. People eating around, and then we have all of our novelty stores our hardware store, they’re busy that day they have a great day. You can’t measure it.“
Executive Director of the Lexington Visitor Center, Morgan Brinkle said people are coming out o the woodwork and events are coming back in full force since COVID. “This is kind of a comeback for us. This is kind of what we are known for. People come from all over the world really to eat Lexington-style barbecue and so, to have a day that celebrates Lexington style is really important to our community and it’s our thing it’s what we’re known for.“
Brinkle also said the impact will carry into post-festival as well. "A lot of people's first experience of Lexington is with the barbecue festival so when they are here for that day they might see something or experience something and want to come back post-festival to experience that again, so that’s really important to our tourism industry.“