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Smoke and Ale festival a bonafide hit

Photo by Heidi Pruitt. The Ovid-based team Porkvana took home the grand champion trophy at the first Smoke and Ale BBQ contest. Porkvana consists of Chad and Nichole Funnell, left, and Mike and Shelda Griffen.
Photo by Heidi Pruitt. The Ovid-based team Porkvana took home the grand champion trophy at the first Smoke and Ale BBQ contest. Porkvana consists of Chad and Nichole Funnell, left, and Mike and Shelda Griffen.

By Jim Pruitt, photos by Heidi Pruitt

Hundreds of people took advantage of the mild temperatures and abundant sunshine to come out to the Chelsea Fairgrounds for the inaugural Smoke and Ale Festival on Oct. 10.

The new event was a hit with attendees who took advantage some of the best backyard barbecue in the region, ale and wine and a chance to soak up some rare October sun. The event is a new fundraiser for the Chelsea Area Chamber of Commerce.

“We’ve been talking about it for years,” said Chelsea Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Bob Pierce. “We have been looking for a new fundraiser.”

The chamber knew the event had to offer fun for the family as well as good food – and the festival delivered. With the opening of the Smokehouse and the Ale House, Pierce got some inspiration.

There was a bounce house, bowling and other games for kids as well as a cornhole tournament.

Attendees were entertained by groups such as The Flying Latini Brothers, a 4-piece blues combo from Ypsilanti, while 16 teams competed in the BBQ contest, judged by Phil Tolliver of Smokehouse 52 and other celebrity judges including Police Chief Ed Toth and Fire Chief Jim Payeur among others.

The teams competed in four categories: Ribs, pork, brisket and smoked chicken. Seven teams competed in all the categories to vie for the Grand Champion title.

The teams had been up since Friday night cooking the meat in preparation for the contest.

The team of Porkvana of Ovid, eked out 1-point win for the Grand Champion trophy over Mike and the Magical Trashcans.

Porkvana consists of Chad and Nichole Funnell and Mike and Shelda Griffen. Chad and Mike have been friends since high school and have been busy this summer entering barbecue contests. Chelsea was their fifth competition since April and the team won a trophy and $600.

The recipe the team developed came through a lot of trial and error, Chad Funnell said.

Myron Hill of Chelsea’s “The Hill Family” took first place for ribs and third place for brisket. Hill has been barbecuing for years and after some urging entered the contest.

Tolliver was impressed with the quality of the barbecue and said he did not enter for fear of being shown up by one of the other teams.

The event drew a crowd all day with at least 600 people coming through the gate by 4:30 p.m., Pierce said.

Winners for the BBQ Contest
Ribs
Hill Family
Mike and the Magic Trashcans
Porkvana

Pork
Farmers Insurance
Irish Fire
Mr. Meat Candy

Brisket
Brotherhood of the Swine
Bad BBQ
Hill Family

Smoked Chicken
Up in Smoke
Brotherhood of the Swine
Mike and the Magic Trashcans

Grand Champion
Porkvana
Mike and the Magic Trashcans
Brotherhood of the Swine

(If you’d like to contact Jim Pruitt, you can email him at [email protected].)

Photo by Heidi Pruitt. The Flying Latini Brothers of Ypsilanti entertained the crowd at the inaugural Smoke and Ale Festival Oct. 10 at the Chelsea Fairgrounds.
Photo by Heidi Pruitt. The Flying Latini Brothers of Ypsilanti entertained the crowd at the inaugural Smoke and Ale Festival Oct. 10 at the Chelsea Fairgrounds.
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1 thought on “Smoke and Ale festival a bonafide hit”

  1. This was such a great event. I was proud to be a sponsor and be a part of fun. Kudos to the Chamber of Commerce and the Hard Working team that made this event happen.

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