The Spruce Pine BBQ Festival is back this weekend, after skipping last year owing to disaster recovery.
The annual festival, organized by the Rotary Club of Spruce Pine, was scheduled to occur the weekend after Hurricane Helene (downgraded to a tropical storm after slowing down over land) struck in the fall of 2024. Now the event is back, scheduled for Saturday on Lower Street (Locust Avenue) in Spruce Pine.
Past festivals have been held in Riverside Park on the other side of the North Toe River in Spruce Pine. However, Riverside is still undergoing hurricane repairs, and this year’s festival will be held in downtown instead.
Cindy Lindsey, one of the event organizers, said that festival-goers are looking forward to a number of new features this year.
“This year we have axe throwing as a new vendor,” Lindsey said. “(There’s) bracelet-making for kids and face painting. We have two bands that have not performed here before.” However, the main draw of the barbecue festival is always the barbecue itself.
“Barbecue is the biggest favorite, and we have four barbecue vendors,” Lindsey said.
The festival will run from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. this Saturday. The Rotary Club uses the proceeds of the Spruce Pine BBQ Festival to fund local non-profits in this area, as well as educational opportunities in the school system.
The festival activities include barbecue, many food and craft vendors, Clever Rabbit Axe Throwing, music all day, face painting, activities for kids, and more. The music schedule is as follows:
10 a.m. – noon: Yesteryear
Noon – 2 p.m.: Carolina Bluegrass Style
2 p.m. – 4 p.m.: JAM – Jody and Mark
4 p.m. – 6 p.m.: Rhonda Gouge and Friends
Yesteryear is new this year from Asheville; the band is led by Shaun Dicks. Carolina Bluegrass Style is from Columbia, S.C. and bluegrass is their specialty. JAM is a staple in the Mitchell County area for country as well as country-rock music .
Rhonda Gouge is a fixture in the music scene, and a Mitchell County native. She is an Appalachian musician and performer, plays at least a dozen instruments, and has recorded multiple albums under her own name and others as well.
Gouge has performed with legendary musicians such as Red Wilson. She was awarded the North Carolina Heritage Award in 2023, and featured in the August 2025 Our State magazine as an “Old Time Picker.”
The admission charge is $5/person with kids 12 and under in free.
In the past, this admission charge has given the Rotary Club the ability to build a playground in Riverside Park (which needs to be re-built), purchase a storage shed for the Giving Gardens, provide a freezer for a local food bank, college scholarships for high school seniors, and many more local projects.
“We want to rebuild our park; … everyone always asks when we will start. The proceeds will certainly help with that,” Lindsey said.
For information visit the website at sprucepinebbq.org or email info@sprucepinebbq.org.