Fountain Valley BBQ & Music Festival

August 19-21, 2022

Friday 5-11 p.m.
Saturday 12-11 p.m.
Sunday 12-8 p.m.

Mile Square Park Sports Complex

$5-up, bbqmusicfest.com
Free parking, $5-13 admission, Children 12 and under are FREE (carnival rides and games, food, drinks are not included) bbqmusicfest.com

Entertainment & Live Music

• Friday, August 19, 2022
  Voodoo Kings,  classic rock band 
  KLIQ Radio Station DJ Dance Lessons 
  Hollywood U2, U2 Tribute Show
  Karaoke Lounge with Live Band
   
• Saturday, August 20, 2022
  Muffler, party band
  Ghost in the Machine, Police/Sting tribute 
  JT Harker, high energy
  The Reflexx, New Wave 80s
  Karaoke Lounge with Live Band + DJ
   
• Sunday, August 21, 2022
  REMJ tribute
  Brothers Igniting A Groove (BIG)
  Shotgun Jefferson, Country rock
  Knyght Ryder
  Karaoke Lounge with Live Band + DJ

Free Souvenir E-Photo
Specialty Drinks and McCafe complimentary signature drinks
Sweet Baby Ray's full bottle giveaways,
magic and illusion show
Carnival with rides: Zipper, Gravitron, Tilt-A-Whirl, Ferris Wheel, Scooters, Mardi Gras Glass House, Sizzler, G-Force-Round-Up, Windjammer, Super Slide, Paratrooper, Yo-Yo, Cliff Hanger, Tornado, Dizzy Dragons, Lady Bugs, Caterpillar Coaster, Kid Power and Surf Shack Fun House

Smokin' BBQ

Fiery chicken, pulled pork, tri-tip, pork ribs, sausages

Past competitors: Cowboy's Barbeque & Rib Co. - Over 150 regional, national, and international titles for True Texas BBQ | The Texas Smokehouse - out of Ft. Worth Texas | Montana Q - Official Pro BBQ Competition Team serves twist of Asian spices and distinguish flavors | Robert Earl's BBQ - Best BBQ in LA and Orange County | BBQ Smokehouse - Savory flavor of 37 herbs and spices, sooo smokin' good | Wowo's Smokin' Hot BBQ | My Father's Barbeque - Where Alabama meets Texas. | Team Woodshed - Hawaiian Style BBQ. Benefitting the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. | Hickory & Spice BBQ | Cool Grilling BBQ Team | Nothing Compares 2 Q | Peaches Smokehouse | Come and Take It BBQ | Roni's Ribs | Peaches Smokehouse | Rad Fondo BBQ | Racer's BBQ | Riv's BBQ

The BBQ Festival is the largest three day BBQ Extravaganza featuring Ribs, Pulled Pork, Tri-tip, Sausages, Chicken and more. The competition is fierce and the flavors rich as National Award Winning Rib Cookers of America and local grillers produce the best that their secret recipes have to offer. Local and nationally known bands, the BEST BBQ IN TOWN, giant food court (Chinese, Mexican, local eateries and American foods -- something for everyone), dance floor, children's area, arts and crafts, cantinas (serving water, beer, wine), to create the largest BBQ Extravaganza, right here in Southern California.

Chomp, Chomp, Lick, Lick–BBQ Festival Sizzles

By C. MacDonald

(Long Beach previously hosted  this event)

First, you see the smoke, lots of it, billowing thick near Rainbow Lagoon. Then you hear Zydeco music and spot people dancing their hearts out” in the distance.

Next, as you get closer, you pick up a whiff, which becomes a pleasurable, constant aroma from BBQ ribs, loads of them, being hickory-smoked by some the nation's top chefs.

Finally, you see several long lines of happy people patiently waiting, joyfully anticipating their sumptuous meals of ribs, chicken, brisket, pork, beans….

Seeing smoke, smelling aroma and waiting for your reward with strangers (who quickly become friends) is all part of the excitement that make the first Long Beach BBQ Festival special.

It's successful because of Long Beach State Grad, Roy Hassett, his family that run O Entertainment, Inc. and their friends. Attendance skyrocketed this year. One BBQ-er said he had five times more guests than a year ago.

Hassett, who runs the festival with his two sons, daughter-in-law, and others, said it's successful because it's family friendly,” affordable (even children 12 and under are free), clean, fun (there's free souvenir E-Photos and children slides) as well as having some of the top BBQ cooks in the country.

With more than 35 years in the special events business, Hassett knows how to make things happen. He went to the famous Best in the West Nugget Rib Cook-off in Sparks, NV, when he wanted to start his own BBQ festival. The legendary Nevada event draws more than 500,000 fans. By asking around and doing his research, he found out one of the 24 rib-cookers, Dan Johnson, was just the man he needed to see.

The former Army officer, known as The Colonel, was not only a champion rib-cooker but knew how to bring in just the right fellow, competing chefs to make a show work. He and Roy worked out a deal and the rest is history.

The secret of good BBQ depends on which cook you talk too. Some say it's the spices or sauces, others the way it's cooked, how long it's smoked, the type of meat or other factors.

The Colonel, from Virginia, competes in 34 states annually and has a sign on his kitchen that says, Johnson's Thermo-Nuclear Sauce will improve your cardiovascular system, sinuses, colon, pancreas—simultaneously! We're talking Hot. No Guts, No Glory.

Besides Johnson's Hickory Smoked Barbecue, some of the other competitors included, Cowboys Barbecue & Rib. Co. (Ft. Worth TX,) Porky-n-Beans (Port Saint Lucie, FL), Texas Outlaws and Tennessee Q.

Be sure and keep your eyes, ears and nose alert for next year's Long Beach BBQ Festival. To find out more, visit OEntertainment.net (which also lists a bunch of other really fun events, including The Original Long Beach Lobster Festival originallobsterfestival.com.)

Events are not guaranteed. It is your responsibility to confirm before going.