Hub City Hog Fest to benefit Mobile Meals of Spartanburg

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Nearly 50 teams will gather in downtown Spartanburg on March 31 to compete in the two-day Hub City Hog Fest.

“We have about 50 barbecue competitors that come in, and then we have food vendors that come in. But this year, we’re adding an expanded Artisans Alley. So, heading from Church Street up East Maine towards Liberty, we’re going to have 35 to 40 Artisans set up. So, it’ll have a very similar Spring Fling feel to it,” Hub City Hog Fest Board Member Brad Blackwell explained.

With that many teams, there will be plenty of barbecue to go around! But if you want to try some of the competing teams’ barbecue, you will need to get there early!

“We give out 4,000 pounds of chicken wings, and that only takes about 3 hours and they’re gone. And then the teams start cooking all of their meat for the next day, and that lasts about 3 hours as well,” Blackwell explained. “So, there’s two different things going on. There’s a competition going on with these teams that are on a circuit, and then there’s the festival itself. The food vendors are here to support the festival. The teams are here to compete. But one of the things that’s unique about us is you get to try samples from those teams, but get here early because those samples go fast.”

Important to note: You can use Hog Bucks to purchase BBQ from the competing teams. BUT there will be chicken wing samples from the competition teams available from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday evening. The samples of the competition teams’ barbecue and ribs are ONLY AVAILABLE from noon to 2 p.m. on Saturday.

Along with the BBQ competition, the festival will have a several food trucks, live music, entertainment for the kids, local vendors selling arts and crafts and much more! Did we mention that all proceeds benefit charity?

“All of our proceeds go to Mobile Meals of Spartanburg. They feed the homebound, and they’re a complete donation driven organization. So, in our previous six years, we’ve donated a little over $400,000 to them. We would love to hit that $500,000 mark this year in donations,” Blackwell explained.

HOURS & TICKETS

Friday, March 31 – Noon – 11 p.m. (Free admission until 5 p.m.)

Saturday, April 1 – Noon – 9 p.m.

Wristbands are $5 each. Children under 10 are admitted free.

Vendors will be on site selling BBQ all weekend. Hog Bucks must be used to purchase food from vendors and to sample BBQ from competition teams.

MUSIC LINEUP

FRIDAY:
3:45 – 4:45 – Hot Yoga
5:15 – 6:15 – Hurt & Skip
6:45 – 8:15 – Prettier Than Matt
8:45 – 10:45 – Steel Toe Stiletto

SATURDAY:
12:00 – 1:00 – Rock and Roll Reunion
1:15 – 2:15 – Megawish
2:30 – 3:30 – Wes, Bill & Rich
4:15 – 5:15 – Kit Lindsey
5:45 – 7:00 – TJ Jeter Band
7:30 – 9:00 – The Gypsy Souls Band

 

PARKING

Spartanburg has plenty of parking, including four downtown parking garages. They are FREE on nights and weekends. Click to view all parking options.

 

VOLUNTEERS

Volunteers are needed! If you would like to volunteer at the Hub City Hog Fest, click here. You’ll get into the event, a free shirt and 10 Hog Bucks!

For more information, visit hubcityhogfest.com. You can also follow along on Facebook and Instagram.