"The Mid-South BBQ Festival started out many years ago with a few scarecrows and has evolved into a small-town tradition." That is how a 2025 Maury County Source preview opened. It went on to describe the third weekend in October as a time when "you can find the folks of this town on the square, shopping at local vendors' tents and choosing between some good BBQ cooked by some local folks who have mastered their craft."
The phrase "local folks" matters. Eight or nine years ago, coverage of this festival talked about professional teams, certified judges, and a five-figure purse. Since then the cook-off has been promoted less as a stop on the competition circuit and more as a hometown event. This year's schedule follows that shift. On Friday, October 16, the cooks start selling lunch before the judging begins, so you can eat the competitors' barbecue before the judges score it.
How a Scarecrow Festival Became a $10,000 Contest
The barbecue part started as an add-on. In October 2013, the Columbia Daily Herald reported that Mount Pleasant had added a barbecue competition to its existing October Scarecrow Festival. The contest grew quickly over the next few years:
- 2013. Thirteen teams competed in chicken, ribs, and a people's-choice category for about $3,000 in prize money. The contest followed Kansas City Barbeque Society rules, and organizers said they hoped to get full KCBS sanctioning the next year.
- 2016. The Daily Herald called it the fourth annual festival. Twenty-seven professional teams cooked for certified KCBS judges, with $10,000 going to first place. Smoke Me Silly of Madison, Alabama, won the first Middle Tennessee Triple Crown, which combined results from Lewisburg, Winchester, and Mount Pleasant.
- 2017. The fifth annual contest again drew 27 professional teams with $10,000 in prize money. A separate $1,500 Southern Pride Triple Crown award was added on top. Contagious Q took grand champion, and Columbia's Rooters 'n' Tooters won the Triple Crown.
- 2018. A KCBS results tracker lists Mount Pleasant contests in 2016, 2017, and 2018. The 2018 entry, dated October 19, shows 22 teams.
- 2019. A Daily Herald preview reported 20 professional teams and $10,000 in prize money. That article doesn't say whether the contest was KCBS-sanctioned that year.
The festival had local founders from the start. In 2016 the Herald named Hugh and Jacqueline Johnson as its creators, with Community Development Corporation Director Donna Morency coordinating the attractions. A 2017 contest announcement aimed at competition cooks listed Hugh Johnson as organizer, Sam Appleton as a contest rep, and a $10,000 purse.
What the 2026 Schedule Says About the Cook-Off Now
Neither the 2025 nor the 2026 promotions mention a purse, a sanctioning body, or a count of professional teams. The 2026 announcement lists a rib cook-off alongside the car show, music, games, vendors, and a kids' Halloween costume contest. It describes the event as the City of Mount Pleasant's BBQ Festival. That doesn't prove the contest has dropped its competition roots. It does mean nobody should promise you a $10,000 field this year, because no published source says there is one.
The schedule shows how the event is put together. Here is how the city's announcement lays out the weekend:
- Friday, 11:30 a.m. Cooks start selling lunch, then begin the cook-off.
- Friday, 4:30 p.m. Judging starts.
- Friday, 5 p.m. The festival opens with the car show, music, and more.
- Saturday, 10 a.m. The festival reopens with food, music, a kids' zone, the kids' Halloween costume contest, and vendors selling art, crafts, clothing, and sweet treats.
The Experience Maury listing puts the festival at 100 Public Square and lists Friday hours as 5 to 9 p.m. The city's own advice is simple: "bring a chair, and stay awhile."
Lunch hour is the window most people overlook. If you work in town or can get away midday Friday, 11:30 a.m. is the one time you're buying from cooks who haven't turned in their entries yet. By the time the Square fills up at 5 p.m., the judging has already started.
The Football Clock Runs Through Both Days
The 2025 preview tied the festival closely to football. It promised a Friday pep rally with the chance to "enjoy the game from uptown." For Saturday, it said "you can count on somebody having a TV tuned in, so you won't have to miss a second of that Orange and Maroon rivalry."
The 2026 announcement doesn't mention a pep rally. This year's football schedule also changes how the weekend works:
Mt. Pleasant High School's schedule on the TSSAA site lists the Tigers at East Hickman High School, Friday, Oct. 16, 2026, 7:00 p.m.
So on Friday the hometown team will be on the road. Fans who want to see the car show and still make kickoff will need to leave the Square early. The Tigers come into October 16 at 3-4. Their next two games are at home: Lewis County on October 23 and Loretto on Thursday, October 29.
Saturday has a big college game. The University of Tennessee's 2026 schedule shows Alabama in Knoxville on October 17. The kickoff time hasn't been set yet. It's listed as a window of 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. or 6 to 8 p.m. Eastern, which is 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. or 5 to 7 p.m. in Mount Pleasant. The festival opens at 10 a.m. that day, so there's a full morning and early afternoon on the Square before either kickoff window starts.
What Hasn't Been Published, and Who to Call
Earlier years named their entertainment. Box or Rocks played Friday in 2016, and country artist Ryan Daniel played Saturday. In 2017 the Inman Brothers performed, and the children's costume contest came with a parade. As of today, the 2026 materials don't name any performers. They also don't explain car-show registration or classes, list the cook-off categories or prizes, or give parking and street-closure details.
If you plan to enter a car, set up a vendor tent, or bring a smoker, go to the City of Mount Pleasant Parks & Recreation department. Its directory lists Alyshia Busby, gives the office number as (931) 379-7717, and says the department handles questions about community events. Calling ahead about the costume contest is also smart if your kids are entering, since the announcement lists it under Saturday's activities but doesn't give a start time.
The festival's history may help explain those gaps. A contest run for 27 traveling teams has to publish rules, categories, and a purse months ahead so cooks can plan their season. A festival run by the city for its own residents can keep the details looser and fill them in close to the weekend. The scarecrows came first, and the pro circuit came and went. Last year's preview credited the barbecue to "local folks who have mastered their craft." This year's announcement bills the weekend as BBQ, music, a car show, a kids' Halloween costume contest, games, a rib cook-off, and vendors on the Square.
Weekends like this one are part of why people value living in Mount Pleasant. If you're thinking about a home within walking distance of the Square, or you just want to talk through what's changing around downtown, Heidi Osterheld is glad to compare notes over a plate of ribs. Let's Connect.
