The Pork in the Park BBQ Festival, sponsored by Wicomico County Recreation, Parks & Tourism, has been selected by Smithfield Foods to host the Smithfield Rib Shootout. To launch their new barbeque competition, Smithfield approached the Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) and requested the top festivals in their major markets. Pork in the Park was amongst the top three in the nation and the only festival in the state of Maryland selected for this opportunity.

Pork in the Park will be the first barbeque festival to hold this new event. Hosting the Smithfield Rib Shootout will put Pork in the Park in the national spotlight, providing the festival with over 50 million traditional and social media impressions through local and national public relations efforts revolving around the event. Pork in the Park will also receive additional exposure on the barbeque circuit as KCBS competitors across the country will be notified of the event. In addition, Smithfield will provide additional prize money for the Grand Champion, Reserve Grand Champion and third place category winners at Pork in the Park.

Since its first year in 2003, Pork in the Park has grown in leaps and bounds with the support of the community, local businesses and sponsors. Now in its ninth year, the festival is recognized as the largest BBQ festival on the East Coast and second largest in the country. Recent events have attracted over 140 competitor teams and festival attendance exceeding 35,000. The Smithfield Rib Shootout is just one of the exciting new events Wicomico Tourism will to bring to Pork in the Park 2012.

Pork in the Park is sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbeque Society and presented by Gateway Subaru. This year’s festival will take place April 20-22 at WinterPlace Park in Salisbury. For more information about Pork in the Park, visit www.PorkinthePark.org. To learn more about Wicomico County Tourism and their other special events, visit www.WicomicoTourism.org.