Downtown BBQ Festival Comes to Main Street in Delta on July 30

From the Downtown BBQ Festival:

“Downtown BBQ Festival 2016” in Delta on July 30 will provide fun for young and old.

Slated for 5-11 p.m. in the Main Street/College Avenue area of town, people are welcome to bring lawn chairs and napkins in order to settle in for the food and other activities, said event coordinator Rick Farrington.

Countless food and arts-and-crafts vendors and BBQ meat sellers will be on hand, as those attending enjoy live music, win prizes at cornhole, play horseshoes, ride a mechanical bull, visit a special beer garden and see the Ravens car, a Zumba performance and a family movie.

Kids can ride ponies or enjoy a firehouse slide, and those 12 years old or younger may enter a bicycle giveaway contest.

“This event is geared toward bringing tourism to Delta, PA, and it’s a fun-filled day to get families out in the community to enjoy the food and festivities,” said Farrington, adding he hopes it becomes an annual event and one nationally sanctioned for barbecue competitions.

Barbecue meats available for sale will be ribs, pork, brisket and roast beef, all with a variety of sauces.

Mason-Dixon Lions Club will sell sodas and fries, and Fawn Grove’s Citizens Volunteer Fire Company will offer BBQ chicken and also soft drinks. Ice cream and orchard foods will be sold, too.

Delta Area Baseball and Softball for Youth (DABSY) will have a dunking stand as part of the festival.

Another activity is a keg toss at 8 p.m. for those 18 and older. A registration fee, due at 6 p.m. the festival day, is $10, and cash prizes will be awarded in first, second and third places for those tossing kegs the greatest distances.

Sal Ferranti, local restauranteur and host of the beer garden, said the keg toss contest will definitely be a crowd-pleasing event.

The 1952 Buick Ravens car owned by “Baltimore Birdman” will be on hand during the entire BBQ fest, and anyone who wants to tailgate with him should wear Ravens gear, Farrington said.

Model A Fitness of Delta presents the Zumba demonstration 6-7 p.m., and the audience may participate in that.

From 7-11 p.m. the classic rock band Torn Blue Jeans performs on the event stage in the center of the festival, and Guppy Gulch Camp of Delta will present a family feature film during its hours.

People wishing to enter their BBQ sauces in the “2016 Captain of the Sauces” contest must each submit one gallon of sauce 5-5:30 p.m. on the festival day. Sauces will be judged in blind analyses by expert BBQers, and the winner will be announced at 9 p.m.

The Old Line Museum at 602 Main Street will be open 5-8 p.m., with local historic artifacts on display. Adults and children must visit that site to obtain the free tickets for the bicycle contest, for which prizes are provided by Calpine’s York Energy Center.

Pony rides are made possible by Horsepower Farms of Delta.

An information booth will be located at the Main Street/College Avenue intersection with details of activities and times.

Parking is free during the day at seven areas convenient to the festival: Delta-Cardiff Volunteer Fire Company, 500 Main Street; Delta Chapel, 100 Chapel Street; rear of DP Lounge/Delta Pizza, 533 Main Street; rear of First Baptist Church, 629 Main Street; rear of Harkins Funeral Home, 600 Main Street; rear of Ken Jones Insurance Co., 617 Main Street; Taylor’s Service Center, 403 Main Street.

Downtown BBQ Festival 2016 is sponsored by the Delta Pride revitalization effort.