Bring your appetite for good food and good music to Cullman’s St. Bernard Abbey this weekend, where the scent of barbecue and the soulful strains of blues music will hail the approach of autumn at the abbey’s Bernard Blues and BBQ festival.
Now in its eighth year, Bernard Blues and BBQ serves as the early-fall festival counterpart to the abbey’s springtime Bloomin’ Festival, opening the scenic 800-acre grounds of the St. Bernard Abbey and Prep School to guests for a two-day tour of all things tuneful, tangy and tasty.
The event also doubles as an official stop on the Kansas City Barbecue Society’s competitive cook-off tour, which this year will bring more than 30 pit masters (up from 19 at last year’s event) out to the abbey to put their grilled and smoky best foot forward for a juried contest that hands out hard cash prizes. Blues and BBQ guests can get in on the giveaway action as well: There’ll be more than $12,000 in cash prizes up for grabs all weekend long.
With the forecast favoring mild temperatures and mostly clear skies, Bernard Blues and BBQ will take place on Saturday, Sept. 7 and Sunday, Sept. 8, running from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. on both days. A requested $10 per-guest donation gets you full access to all the activity (children under 12 can attend for free), while tours of the abbey’s Ave Maria Grotto will be available for a reduced admission of $5 on both days.
Organizers pride themselves on authenticity in curating all the music, food and the more than 70 arts and crafts vendors who’ll be setting up shop at the St. Bernard campus this weekend. “I like the whole environment, you know?” teases first-time Blues and BBQ vendor Trey Anderson, a Smith Lake-based maker of hand-painted fishing lures who’s previously shared his work at Tannehill Trade Days and Winfield’s Mule Day festivals.
“I like to talk to all the different vendors next to me, see what they’ve got going on: What’s their story? Where did they come from? Why did they start doing what they do? This isn’t a ‘job’ for me. I love it!”
Anderson will be in good company this weekend, showcasing his lures alongside dozens of artisans and crafters who put their handmade touch on a wide array of fascinating good including pottery, wreaths, door hangers, flowers, wood turned bowls, clothing, birdhouses, honey, jewelry, soap, brooms, metal art, glass art, freshly ground cornmeal and grits and much more. The abbey’s locally famous Monk Bread (and Monk Cookies!) will also be on sale throughout the festival, showcasing the skills of the monastic bakers who make their doughy delicacies right in the St. Bernard kitchen.
Visit the event’s website at https://stbernardprep.com/bernard-blues-bbq/ for more information on this year’s Bernard Blues and BBQ (remember to leave your pets at home!) and find “Bernard Blues and BBQ” on Facebook to keep track of all this weekend’s scheduled activity as it happens.