A breezy Saturday that started with overcast skies and ended with brilliant sunshine was just the right setting for the final day of the 2017 Bartlett Festival.
“What a great weekend for a festival!” said Debbie Gelineau, Bartlett community relations director. “With the addition of the MBN BBQ contest and the Judge Freeman Marr Panther Pride 5K as part of the weekend and along with the great music and vendors we had one of the best festivals I can remember! We are already looking for ways to make 2018 even better. Thank you to everyone who was a part of the success of this year’s Bartlett Festival.”
The event drew thousands of Mid-South residents to the city’s W.J. Freeman Park on Friday and Saturday to enjoy the vendor booths, rides, demonstrations and more.
Attractions included a Memphis Barbecue Network-sanctioned BBQ contest, a car show, a 5K run, a petting zoo, carnival rides, cornhole tournaments, live music that included national and regional performers and the Bartlett Community Concert Band, deejays, and demonstrations of martial arts, police dogs’ skills, pom squads, clogging and other forms of dancing.
The real winners in the Bartlett BBQ Fest were those who got invitations to sample the grillers’ efforts and everyone else who got to hear the amusing and colorful team names. Those who took home trophies and cash prizes included:
- Grand champion: Born in the Que S A
- Winner of the 26-quart Orca cooler: 3 Puttin’ Pigs
- Ribs, backyard division: Born in the Que S A, first place; 2 Phat’s BBQ, second place; Loosahatchie Grillers, third place; 3 Puttin’ Pigs, fourth place; Slabs a’ Smokin’, fifth place; Cuzo’s, sixth place; Big Bad Wolf BBQ, seventh place; and Pickin’ Our Butts, eighth place
- Pulled pork, backyard division: Smokin’ Trucker BBQ, first place; Dirk Piggler BBQ, second place; Hold My Beer and Watch This, third place; Pickin’ Our Butts, fourth place; Slabs a’ Smokin’, fifth place; Born in the Que S A, sixth place; UPigsBBQ, seventh place; and Mempho Q, eighth place
- BBQ side dish: Hold My Beer and Watch This, first place; Uncle Murle’s BBQ Team, second place; and Official BBQ Business, third place
- Sauce: 2 Phat’s BBQ, first place; Mempho Q, second place; and Pickin’ Our Butts, third place
- Seafood/Fish: Uncle Murle’s BBQ Team, first place; TNT Smokers Ty’s Smokehouse, second place; and Loosahatchie Grillers, third place
- Beef: Uncle Murle’s BBQ Team, first place; Big Bad Wolf BBQ, second place; and Adribbers, third place
- Dessert: Smokin’ Trucker BBQ, first place; Fat Larry’s, second place; and TNT Smokers Ty’s Smokehouse, third place
- Chicken: Cuzo’s, first place; Bar-B-Que Pirates, second place; and Me So Yummy, third place
The Judge Freeman Marr 5K that kicked off Saturday’s festivities included 271 participants, with more than 100 of those registering on the day of the race. The total included 155 males and 116 females. See the following details on top finishers, and see others’ race times online at bit.ly/2017Marr5K.
- Male 5K top finishers and their times: Jake Manley, 18:55.79; Landen McNair, 19:46.10; Shemar Johnson, 20:00.86; Sylvester Thompson, 20:09.02; and Andrew Cunningham, 20:25.01.
- Female 5K top finishers and their times: Jessica Myers, 21:47.13; Jana Stader, 22:39.20; Maggie Roy, 22:49.25; Carley Brown, 24:39.40; and Precious Green, 25:15.04.
