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Food And Drink › Barbecue › Barbecue Festivals
Short answer: The longest barbecue festival on this list is the three-day Festival of Discovery in uptown Greenwood each July, built around a barbecue and hash cook-off. Through the year the South Carolina Barbeque Association sanctions town cook-offs where visitors can taste the teams’ barbecue. Dates below are only the ones the organizers or the association have published.
- 10Yearly festivalsfrom organizer pages
- 8Next date publishedas of November 4, 2026
- JulFestival of DiscoveryGreenwood, July 8-10, 2027
- FreeTo listwe take no payment
How we checked: each festival’s own site, the South Carolina Barbeque Association’s 2026 and 2027 contest calendar and our own events calendar. All read on November 4, 2026. Hours, prices and dates change, so confirm with the place or organizer before you drive. Anything we could not read is marked Not confirmed where it appears. We rank nothing: no source we used ranks these places, and we did not taste, rate or compare them. Nobody paid to be listed.
Festivals by Month
Yearly Barbecue Festivals and Cook-Offs
Listed by the month they usually run. Organizer pages are linked; each date is as the organizer printed it.
- Battle of Camden Barbeque FestivalCamden · usually NovemberA sanctioned South Carolina Barbeque Association cook-off where visitors sample barbecue from the competing teams, per the association’s listing. Next date: Saturday, November 14, 2026, per the SCBA calendar (festival hours and venue for 2026 are not on an organizer page Not confirmed).
- Hub City Hog FestSpartanburg (downtown, around Morgan Square) · usually AprilA downtown barbecue contest for Mobile Meals of Spartanburg, judged in wings, brisket, ribs and pork butts. In 2026 Friday noon to 5 p.m. was free, then $5 wristbands, with children 10 and under free, per its site. Next date: Saturday, April 3, 2027, per the SCBA calendar (the festival’s own site still shows 2026). Last held: April 10-11, 2026.
- Come-See-Me Barbeque Cook-OffRock Hill · usually April (during the Come-See-Me Festival)Barbecue teams cook for an SCBA-judged contest during Rock Hill’s spring festival, with barbecue for sale, per the festival’s events page. Next date: date not yet announced Not confirmed. Last held: April 25, 2026. Our event page.
- Pickin’ and Piggin’ BBQ Cook-OffSaluda Shoals Park (Irmo and Columbia area) · usually May (first Saturday)A park cook-off where visitors buy a tasting ticket to try the teams’ barbecue, with live music, per the SCBA listing. Next date: Saturday, May 1, 2027, per the SCBA calendar. Last held: May 2, 2026.
- Pig in the Park BBQ Festival and Cook-OffWilliamston (Mineral Spring Park) · usually MayA small-town barbecue festival and SCBA cook-off with a craft and vendor market, raising money for local charities, per the SCBA listing. Next date: Saturday, May 15, 2027, per the SCBA calendar. Last held: May 15-16, 2026.
- Cookin’ on the Creek BBQ FestivalEdisto Beach (Bay Creek Park) · usually JuneA two-day beach-town festival: Friday music and a wing showdown, then Saturday public tasting and voting during the SCBA contest, per the Edisto chamber. Next date: Saturday, June 5, 2027, per the SCBA calendar. Last held: June 5-6, 2026.
- South Carolina Festival of DiscoveryGreenwood (uptown) · usually JulyA three-day uptown festival built around a Kansas City Barbeque Society barbecue and hash cook-off, with free blues music, a kids’ cooking contest, a kids’ zone and rides, per Uptown Greenwood. Next date: July 8-10, 2027, per the festival’s own page. Last held: July 9-11, 2026.
- Project Host BBQ Cook-Off and FestivalGreenville · usually September (last weekend)A family-friendly downtown barbecue festival that raises money for Project Host’s programs, per the organizer. Next date: date not yet announced Not confirmed. Last held: September 25-26, 2026.
- The Hopeful Hog FestivalLancaster · usually October (first Saturday)A charity barbecue cook-off with public sampling and family activities, per the SCBA listing. Venue not on the calendar Not confirmed Next date: Saturday, October 2, 2027, per the SCBA calendar. Last held: October 3, 2026.
- Big Peach Barbeque BattleGaffney · usually July in 2026, October in 2027An SCBA barbecue contest in Gaffney, in the Upstate’s peach country. The organizer is not named on the calendar Not confirmed Next date: Saturday, October 9, 2027, per the SCBA calendar. Last held: July 11, 2026.
On Our Calendar Now
| Event | When | Where | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| SEWE Lowcountry Social (oysters, BBQ and bluegrass) | Sat, Feb 13 | Charleston · Lowcountry | See event site |
Add to your calendar: SEWE Lowcountry Social (oysters, BBQ and bluegrass) (Feb 13). Times and tickets are on each organizer’s page.
Cook-Offs Cancelled This Season
The South Carolina Barbeque Association calendar marks these 2026 contests as cancelled: Pig on the Ridge in Ridgeway (November 7), Smokin Fur A Cause in Manning (November 21), Clover’s Butts Cook-Off and Music Frenzy (October 10), For the Love of a Paw in Elloree (October 10) and Cookin’ and Campin’ in Summerton (October 3). The Abbeville Shrine Club contest moved from April 18, 2026 to April 17, 2027, per the same calendar.
The calendar also lists smaller cook-offs in Port Royal, Union, Prosperity, Sumter, Florence and Chester, most with 2027 dates. Contest dates there are for the teams; public tasting hours are set by each town’s organizer.
What We Could Not Confirm
- Public hours and the venue for the 2026 Battle of Camden festival: not on an organizer page. Not confirmed
- Dates that come only from the South Carolina Barbeque Association calendar, not from the town’s own organizer: Camden, Pickin’ and Piggin’, Pig in the Park, The Hopeful Hog, Big Peach and the 2027 Hub City and Edisto dates. Not confirmed
- 2027 dates for the Come-See-Me cook-off and Project Host: not published when we checked. Not confirmed
- Whether the Festival of Discovery cook-off is a state championship: its own page does not say so, so we do not call it one. Not confirmed
- The Chitlin’ Strut in Salley is a pork festival, not a barbecue one; the town says there is no official announcement about a 2026 festival, so we left it off. Not confirmed
Frequently Asked Questions
Which South Carolina barbecue festival is the biggest?
We do not rank festivals. The Festival of Discovery in Greenwood runs three days and its own page reports more than 39,000 visitors, a figure we have not checked Not confirmed
What is a sanctioned cook-off?
A contest run under one association’s rules and judges. The South Carolina Barbeque Association sanctions most town cook-offs in the state; the Festival of Discovery runs under the Kansas City Barbeque Society, per its own page.
Can visitors eat the barbecue at a cook-off?
At many, yes: Pickin’ and Piggin’, Cookin’ on the Creek and the Battle of Camden list public tasting, and Hub City Hog Fest sells “Hog Bucks” for samples, per their listings. Check each organizer’s page for prices.
More Barbecue Pages
Sources
- Uptown Greenwood, South Carolina Festival of Discovery, read November 4, 2026
- Hub City Hog Fest, read November 4, 2026
- Come-See-Me Festival, events, read November 4, 2026
- Edisto Chamber, Cookin’ on the Creek BBQ Festival, read November 4, 2026
- Project Host, events and news, read November 4, 2026
- South Carolina Barbeque Association, 2026 and 2027 contest calendar, read November 4, 2026 (cook-off dates)
- South Carolina Barbeque Association, Battle of Camden listing, read November 4, 2026
- Town of Salley, read November 4, 2026 (Chitlin’ Strut status)
How we check: editorial standards. Spot a mistake or a closure? Tell us.
Cite this page: It's South Carolina, “South Carolina Barbecue Festivals and Cook-Offs”, itssouthcarolina.com/barbecue/festivals/ (updated ). By the It's South Carolina editorial team. Free to quote with attribution and a link to this page; data and tables are licensed CC BY 4.0.