Carolina BBQ Festival 2026 marks five years of celebrating the Carolinas barbecue traditions by bringing together the best pitmasters in North Carolina, South Carolina and across the South.
At the same time, Carolina BBQ Festival’s #BBQforaCause mission supports Operation BBQ Relief which provides a hot meal and comfort to neighbors in their times of greatest need. A new charity partner for 2026: AltruSpirit empowers at-risk and financially disadvantaged youth in the Charlotte area by providing access to high-quality athletic programming and equipment.
The 2026 festival dates are April 17-18 at Victoria Yards in uptown Charlotte. Part of the Charlotte Shout for the third year, Carolina BBQ Festival is a perfect addition to the month-long spotlight on art, music, food, and ideas in the Queen City’s uptown.
Based on the menu, Carolina BBQ Festival 2026 will combine classically trained cookery, daring entrepreneurs, and barbecue families with traditions passed down for generations.
That combination led to fantastic barbecue bites in 2025: whole hog, beef rib sliders, hash and rice, “smoaked” pastrami … and whatever that shrimp thing Tank was cooking. Expect just as much variety in 2026 for the festival’s fifth anniversary.
The Low & Slow Barbecue Show is excited to be the official podcast for the Carolina BBQ Festival – see below for links to our official interviews with all the pitmasters!
Keep reading for more details about the 2026 Carolina BBQ Festival:
- What is the Carolina BBQ Festival – where, when, tickets
- Carolina BBQ Festival pitmasters
- Festival food lineup
- Charitable efforts supported by Carolina BBQ Festival
Buy tickets before they sell out! Use promo code “LOWANDSLOW” for a discount. Complete Carolina BBQ Festival 2026 details below.
What is the Carolina BBQ Festival 2026?
Carolina BBQ Festival is April 17-18, 2026, at Victoria Yards and the adjacent parking lot in uptown Charlotte, NC (209 East 7th Street). Started in 2022, the annual spring event showcases the best barbecue samples from pitmasters primarily based in North Carolina and South Carolina. The footprint of barbecue expertise expanded to Virginia, Georgia and Tennessee for the 2026 installment.
Lewis Donald, fire tender and owner of Sweet Lew’s Barbecue in Charlotte, launched the event to raise money and awareness for charities. In 2026 the #BBQforaCause mission festival supports Operation BBQ Relief and AltruSpirit.
Carolina BBQ Festival occurs over two days: The Kickoff “Queen City Smoke” on Friday evening followed by the Barbecue Saturday festival of 25+ pitmasters and vendors.
Carolina BBQ Festival events throughout the year offer additional opportunities to meet pitmasters and taste great barbecue. Barbecue Brunch kicks off the calendar year with an early spring event. The Pig Pickin’ is a fall satellite event for the larger festival.
The Kickoff: Queen City Smoke
The ultimate BBQ pregame is Friday, April 17, 6-10 p.m. The night focuses on Charlotte barbecue. Presented by the city of Charlotte, “Queen City Smoke” offers the creations of 5 Charlotte-area pitmasters, including:
- The Improper Pig: cream mac & cheese topped with slow-smoked brisket, pickled onions and cilantro with house slaw.
- Midwood Smokehouse: double-smoked burnt end street tacos with beef tallow chimichurri and pickled red onions. (Meet pitmaster Matt Barry).
- Bar-B-Q King: chopped pork BBQ tray with choice of white or red slaw.
- Mac’s Speed Shop: brisket tostada with a crispy corn tortilla with smoked brisket, western BBQ sauce, queso fresca and street corn salad.
- Union Barbecue: sliced brisket with salsa roja, cotija and sweet pickled cucumbers and tajin dust + house-made brisket and cheddar chorizo link with salsa verde. (Meet pitmaster Holden Sasser)
Come to the kickoff in uptown Charlotte’s Victoria Yards for the first taste of the weekend’s barbecue and hang out with the pitmasters. Don’t miss the behind-the-scenes building of the brick pits for whole hog smoking. Experience the Carolina BBQ culture up close and personal.
The Festival
Carolina BBQ Festival’s premiere event offers barbecue tastings from 20+ pitmasters, live music, and a barbecue vendor fair in uptown Charlotte’s Victoria Yards, Saturday, April 18, 12-4 p.m. (VIP access at 11 a.m.).
See the event FAQ for additional details:
- What to expect.
- Parking.
- Festival access.
- Lodging suggestions – get booked with exclusive lodging.
See the Carolina BBQ Festival “What to Expect” Instagram post for complete event details.
Pitmasters for the 2026 Carolina BBQ Festival
The 2026 list of pitmasters is the largest ever with returning participants and new additions. Click links to access the barbecue business website, or Low & Slow Barbecue Show podcast interviews and blogs.
Carolina BBQ Festival 2026 Pitmasters:
- NEW! Griffin Bufkin + Harrison Sapp, Southern Soul Barbecue, St. Simons Island, GA
- NEW! Bob Roberts, Redwood Smoke Shack, Norfolk, VA
- NEW! Michael Letchworth, Fox Hollow Outdoors, Eastern, NC | Podcast
- NEW! Adam Hughes, Old Colony Smokehouse, Edenton, NC | Podcast
- NEW! Anthony Dibernardo, Swig & Swine BBQ, Charleston, SC
- Eric Pickle, Smoked Pickle Barbecue, Knoxville, TN | Podcast
- Ben Hooper, Ben’s Backdraft BBQ, Waynesville, NC | Podcast
- Matthew Register, Southern Smoke BBQ, Garland, NC | Podcast | Blog + Collard Green Chowder Recipe
- Bryan Furman, Bryan Furman BBQ, PNW | Podcast
- Elliott Moss, Elliott’s Florence, Florence, SC| Podcast
- Sam Jones BBQ, Raleigh and Winterville, NC
- Dylan Cooke, Fork Grove Barbecue, Anderson, SC | Podcast | Blog
- Tank Jackson, Holy City Hogs , Wadmalaw Island, SC, | Podcast | Blog
- Jake Wood, Lawrence Barbecue, Cary, NC | Podcast | Blog
- Keith Henning, Black Powder Smokehouse , Jamestown & Asheboro| Podcast | Blog
- Lewis Donald, Sweet Lew’s BBQ, Charlotte, NC | Podcast
- Nathan Monk | Lexington Barbecue, Lexington, NC
- Garren Kirkman, Jon G’s Barbecue, Peachland, NC | Podcast | Blog
- Ken & Jess Hess, County Smoak, Lynchburg, VA | Podcast
- Ronald Simmons, Master Blend Family Farms, Kenansville, NC | Podcast | Blog + Recipe for Master Blend Sausage Rolls.
- Stan Hays, Operation BBQ Relief | Podcast | Blog
- TMG Pits, Knoxville, TN
#BBQforaCause Fuels the Festival
Festival founder Lewis Donald started the event to support his community.
“One of my biggest goals has always been to give back, and that is not always easy as a small business owner,” he told me before the 2023 festival. “What I’ve done is try to enlist a bunch of friends to help me give back to our communities.”
Since its launch, Carolina BBQ Festival has raised more than $52,000 for various charities that feed and support Carolina communities. Charities receiving proceeds from the festival include:
Operation BBQ Relief
Operation Barbecue Relief provided 1.3 million meals following Hurricanes Helene and Milton in Florida and especially Western North Carolina. The organization has served more than 13 million meals throughout the United States. During “blue sky days” Camp OBR and The Always Serving Project create additional opportunities for Operation BBQ Relief to serve veterans and emergency responders.
Listen to this podcast to hear how Operation BBQ Relief partners with Hickory Soup Kitchen to have an annual local impact.
AltruSpirit
Empowers at-risk and financially disadvantaged youth in the Charlotte area by providing access to high-quality athletic programming and equipment. We are committed to fostering a sense of community, discipline, and personal growth through sports, ensuring every child has the opportunity to develop their skills, build confidence, and achieve their fullest potential both on and off the field. Learn more.
Support these charities by attending the 2026 Carolina BBQ Festival April 17-18 at Victoria Yards in uptown Charlotte.
Carolina BBQ Festival Menu
- Griffin Bufkin + Harrison Sapp: Grilled andouille and pimento cheese sliders.
- Michael Letchworth: Redfish on the half shell with a sesame veggie salad.
- Anthony Dibernardo: Beef + cheddar – Certified Angus Beef Chuck Roll, melted jalapeno, pimento cheese, pickled red onion on a soft onion roll.
- Adam Hughes: The Pimp Link sandwich – jalapeno-cheddar sausage + pimento cheese + pickled red onion + palmetto sauce.
- Bob Roberts: Twice-smoked gochujang-glazed pork belly burnt ends with a creamy chopped slaw.
- Eric Pickle: Tennessee live-fire pork steak, hot mustard BBQ glaze, garlic spicy pickle.
- Ronald Simmons: Master Blend pasture-raised pork stuffed Nash Produce sweet potato, jalapeno, sour cream, signature sauce.
- Nathan Monk: Chopped BBQ slider with Lexington BBQ slaw.
- Matthew Register: Pork loin sandwich with smoked tomato gravy and Calabrian chili aioli on a Martin’s potato bun.
- Keith Henning: Peanut-crusted Korean sticky wings with smoked sesame cabbage.
- Tank Jackson: Tank’s Always Puffin’ Pork Skins with Highland Menlo Caviar and creme fresh.
- Stan Hays: Mississippi cheese steak sliders, Goodstock chuck roast, smoked cream cheese + Texas Pete on a Martin’s potato roll.
- Sam Jones BBQ: Whole hog BBQ and sweet slaw.
- Lewis Donald: Duroc pork whole hog slider with pickled peach sauce + Carolina ramp slaw on a Martin’s Potato bun.
- Ken & Jess Hess: House-cured Certified Angus Beef prime brisket pastrami, liquid gold mustard sauce + fire and ice pickles on rye.
- Garren Kirkman: Brisket fried rice with yum yum sauce.
- Dylan Cooke: Sweet chili bacon burnt ends.
- Ben Hooper: Moon Pie banana pudding.
- Bryan Furman: B’s Ribs with peach mustard sauce.
- Elliott Moss: BBQ pork hash & rice.
- Jake Wood: Smoked party wings with beef fat caramel or ancho-honey.
- TMG Pits: Live fire beef tacos with Green Mountain Gringo Salsa.
Carolina BBQ Festival Host: Jack Arnold
Live-fire legend Jack Arnold brings world-class BBQ brains to the festival. He joins the event as official host in support of Operation BBQ Relief, adding the Charlotte stop to exclusive annual residencies at The Ritz-Carlton Kay Biscayne and Ocean House.
Jack is founder of Burnt End, premium BBQ Seasoning and Rub.
The 2026 Carolina BBQ Festival Official Podcast
The Low & Slow Barbecue Show is delighted to be the official podcast of the Carolina BBQ Festival.
Low & Slow has been involved with the festival since 2023 when we captured on-the-scene interviews with the pitmasters. Last year, our involvement expanded and we continue to fine-tune the ways we celebrate Carolina pitmasters.
Don’t miss our pit-side interviews from the 2025 BBQ Festival on our new YouTube channel.
Subscribe to the channel and get the latest interviews and content from the 2026 Carolina BBQ Festival.
2026 Carolina BBQ Festival Tickets
Buy tickets for access to 6+ pounds of food and tastings from all the participating pitmasters, live music, and local barbecue vendors.
The festival is family-friendly, and children under age 6 are admitted free.
- The Kickoff Friday tickets – $42.03 all-in: 5+ Charlotte pitmaster tastings, watch pit set up, enjoy drinks, DJ.
- The Festival General Admission tickets – $87.82 all-in: Tastings from 20+ BBQ pitmasters, DJ, vendor shopping, sponsor activations, raffle & #BBQforaCause, shop exclusive 2026 Carolina BBQ Festival swag.
- The Festival VIP – $145.03 all-in: General admission benefits, access to VIP area + oysters + champagne, early 11 a.m. VIP access. $10 voucher for festival merch + dedicated bar.
- Kids Ticket (7-13) – 30.59 all-in.
Piglet tickets – $0: Children under age 6 receive free admission.
Tickets for the rain-or-shine event are non-refundable.
Visit the Carolina BBQ Festival ticket site for pricing and to reserve your tickets.
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