Lexington Barbecue Festival

---

All the swimming pools are closed. There is a chill in the air as the days get shorter as the nights get longer. A slight sadness comes over you knowing that all the fun times of Summer have now come to an end.  Then the trees begin to come forth with their beautiful autumn colors and before you can shed a tear for the passing of Summer you begin to be overwhelmed with the anticipation of  the fun that awaits you  in the days of Fall.

The Fall season is definitely a season of transition.  Especially for Campers.  I see more campers on the road in the Fall than any other season.  As some are headed south to dodge the coming Winter cold many are headed to the mountain tops to bask in the beauty of the autumn  colors and enjoy the many small town Fall Festivals along the way.  

One of the many Fall festivals we love to attend is the Barbecue Festival of Lexington NC. It is known to be one of the top ten food festivals in the whole USA.  The Forrest Lake RV resort is only an 18 min drive from downtown Lexington but if you plan to attend the festival I suggest you get there early as parking can be a bit of a challenge.  The streets quickly begin to be flooded with people, vendors, live music, rides and the smell of the most awesome pit cooked barbecue in the world. If you are not a fan of barbecue don’t worry, there are many other awesome flavors there to satisfy your taste buds with.  Like funnel cakes, pumpkin pies, turkey legs, kettle corn and even deep fried oreo cookies.  One of the vendors we are often a patron of is Bayou Billy’s Sweet Tea. You buy one of the collectible “can” cups and you can have as many refills as you want for only  1 dollar each. 

Lexington is so well known for its barbecue that the theme of the town is pretty much centered around it.  All over town you will find colorfully painted pig statues set out in front of the many stores along the streets of Lexington.  Many reflecting in some way what the store is selling. For example a store selling candy may have a pig statue with peppermint stripes and a hardware store may have a pig made of nuts and bolts. You can pick up a list at the festival and enjoy the challenge of finding all the pigs.

For the past 17 years a giant sand  sculpture is  has been a part of the Festival.  Many take pictures in front of the sand sculpture to remember the festival. 

Shows of all kinds are scattered on various stages throughout the festival. Concerts of all styles of music, Magic shows, bike stunt shows, pig races, and even a lumberjack competition. 

Admission is free but you had better plan on spending quite a bit of money when you go to  the Barbecue Festival.  

All kinds of tasty treats are available at the barbecue festival

Barbecue is the theme of the town in Lexington