BBQ, live music, and craft fair lovers are going to have to find someplace other than the foothills and Tryon to go this summer for a “fix”… the Carolina Foothills Chamber of Commerce has canceled the 2017 Blue Ridge BBQ & Music Festival. Festival organizers attribute the demise of the festival to three things: 1)decreased attendance, 2)lack of funding, and 3)ongoing contract negotiations with the Town of Tryon for the use of Harmon Field.
The recommendation to cancel the long-standing summertime BBQ festival came recently during a festival committee meeting. The festival’s primary purpose has been to raise funds for the Chamber of Commerce through a nationally recognized family oriented two-day event…and a Chamber spokesman says the last three festivals have failed to meet their financial goals and expectation.
So, according to Chamber President Kathy Toomey, “…it became painfully obvious that we needed to take a break and rethink how the festival should continue.”
High insurance costs for the use of Harmon Field were also a factor in the decision to cancel the festival.
