Plans Are Underway for the New & Improved 6th Annual Naptown BarBAYq Contest & Music Festival

Mark your calendars for the 6th Annual new and improved Naptown barBAYq Contest & Music Festival, Friday, May 6th. and Saturday, May 7th, 2016, at the Anne Arundel County Fairgrounds, in Crownsville, MD. The Festival is a family affair and features a barbeque competition sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbeque Society, two People's Choice competitions, great food and adult libations, live music, plus, activities for all ages and arts and crafts vendors.

The Parole Rotary, Festival hosts, are mixing things up a little this year. The Festival is now Friday, May 6th, and Saturday, May 7th, 2016. And new this year, the KCBS Competitors have been moved into the Festival venue, creating the barBAYq Village. This gives festival-goers the chance to walk through and meet the competitors, but don't expect them to give up their secret recipe. The barBAYq Village will be open on Friday afternoon and evening and all day Saturday.

On Friday, it's party time at the Fairgrounds, the gates open at 4:00pm with a Happy Hour - half price beer from 4-7pm, and a Peoples' Choice Wing Competition in the barBAYq Village. Attendees are invited to taste as many wings as they wish and vote for their favorite. The barBAYq Village will be buzzing as the teams make their final preparations for the KCBS sanctioned BBQ contest. Live music kicks off with 9 Mile Roots and Weird Science will take the stage at 7pm. The arts n crafts vendors will be open and of course, plenty of great food from our select food vendors, and the beer will be flowing.

Saturday the gates open at Noon, kids 12 and under are free, and will enjoy the Kid Korral with free activities. Live music on two stages all day, and at 6pm Marshall Law will take the stage for the evening concert. Be sure to check out the People's Choice Pulled Pork Competition starting at 2pm (until the pork runs out). It's a great way to sample the teams' BBQ and vote for a favorite.

Also new this year is a partnership with Union Jack's in Annapolis. On Friday and Saturday night, festival-goers wearing barBAYq wristbands can head over to Union Jack's for the barBAYq after party and cover charges will be waived.

The Naptown barBAYq Contest & Music Festival is a Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) sanctioned event. 50 teams will compete this year for cash prizes and trophies in the categories of Chicken, Ribs, Pork, and Brisket. The overall winner of the 2016 Naptown barBAYq Contest will be named the Grand Champion of Maryland. The winner of the People's Choice will be announced on Saturday, May 7th, 2016, at 5pm.

Over the past five years, the Festival has generated over $250,000 and provided grants to Anne Arundel Medical Center Pediatrics Emergency Inpatient Unit, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Annapolis & Anne Arundel County, Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, The Phoenix Academy and numerous other local children's charities.

According to Henry Riser, Festival Director, "The 2015 Festival was a huge success and we are looking forward to raising the bar even higher in 2016! We're all working hard to make this year's event even better...more delicious barbeque, more music, more kids' activities...just more. We are a service club that significantly improves lives in our local community and around the world by meeting real needs. Through the work we do at the Festival and all year long, our club makes a positive difference for youth today, so they will make a difference tomorrow, that's our mantra summarizing our mission and goals," explains Henry Riser, 2016 Festival Director.

Tickets for the Festival are $15 per day, if purchased before May 1st, 2016, $20 after that. Kids 12 and under are admitted free. For more information about the Festival, to volunteer or become a sponsor, please visit the new website at http://www.barBAYq.com.

Please "LIKE" Naptown on Facebook by searching "Naptown barBAYq," follow on Twitter @barBAYq, or search YouTube for "Naptown barBAYq."

The Naptown barBAYq Contest & Music Festival is hosted by the Parole (Annapolis) Rotary Club Foundation, Inc., the 501(c)3 entity of the Parole (Annapolis) Rotary Club and staffed by members of the Parole (Annapolis) Rotary Club and volunteers from the community.

About Rotary

Rotary is a worldwide network of inspired individuals who translate their passions into relevant social causes to change lives in communities. Made up of over 34,000 Rotary clubs around the world, Rotary International forms a global network of business, professional, and community leaders who volunteer their time and talents to serve communities locally and around the world - and form strong, lasting friendships in the process. Rotary's motto, Service Above Self, exemplifies the humanitarian spirit of the 1.2 million Rotarians worldwide.

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