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BBQ Competition Draws Crowds To Gravette

GRAVETTE (KFSM)– Gravette ended its inaugural Smoke on the Border BBQ cookoff Sunday afternoon (April 2) and plans to keep the cooking going for years to ...

GRAVETTE (KFSM)-- Gravette ended its inaugural Smoke on the Border BBQ cookoff Sunday afternoon (April 2) and plans to keep the cooking going for years to come.

Fred Overstreet, event organizer, said they had 37 teams from four states register in the competition.

He said the event exceeded his expectations, especially since it was the first one.

“We aren’t a big town but we do have a lot of potential," said Overstreet. "So we’re trying to make people aware of Gravette but to get over 1,000 people to have a shot at Gravette and see what kind of events we can do and the kind of fun we can have, has got to be good for the community.”

He was surprised by the caliber of teams that showed up to test their food against others.

The team that took home the grand champion title was Hog Tide BBQ from Springfield, Missouri.

Drew McNatt, the owner and pit master of the group, said he grew up in Bentonville and was glad to get a win back at home.

He said he has professionally participated in competitions like this for about 11 years.

McNatt was glad to see so many quality teams take an interest in a competition close to home.

“It’s special and I don’t know that the community really understands just how special it is to have top teams in the country coming here and competing,” said McNatt.

Overstreet said Gravette plans to make Smoke on the Border an annual event to continue to show people what their small town can do.

He said a lot of what happened over the weekend would not have been possible without the event's volunteers and sponsors.

Overstreet said they plan to start making announcements about next year's event soon on their Facebook page.

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