A tasty blend of amateur and professional BBQ competitors from 12 states and two continents are perfecting their recipes and honing their techniques in preparation for the 8^th Annual Sip & Swine BBQ Festival. Originally crafted in 2016 as a fundraiser for Home of Hope at Gwinnett Children’s Shelter, the two-day Kansas City Barbecue Society (KCBS)-sanctioned event has grown by leaps and bounds in all the years since – incorporating live performances by local bands, a slew of food and craft vendors, and family-friendly activities. Admission and parking are FREE, and 100% of the proceeds benefit Home of Hope – a local charity devoted to the well-being of homeless children, their young mothers and teens aging out of the foster care system. This year’s festival will take place Friday March 3 and Saturday March 4 at Coolray Field, and organizers are already predicting that it will be their largest event to date.

“As word spreads year after year, we not only experience larger crowds, but also increased interest from competitors, vendors, bands and sponsors,” said Jim Lloyd, Chairman of the Board of Directors at Home of Hope, organizer of the Sip & Swine BBQ Festival, and CEO of Lawrenceville-based InsuranceHub Leavitt Agency. “For the first time in the festival’s history, we have already hit our cap on competitors, and we have one team joining us from all the way in Australia! From here in the U.S., we have a dozen states represented, including competition teams from all over the South and some of our Northern and Midwestern neighbors like New York, Maryland, Ohio and Illinois. We’re expecting a lot of different flavors represented at this year’s event, influenced by all those various regions.”

To date, the Sip & Swine BBQ Festival has raised $742k on behalf of Home of Hope at Gwinnett Children’s Shelter – a residential care facility that has endeavored to end the cycle of homelessness two generations at a time – since 1987. Proceeds from competition fees, vendors fees, raffle ticket sales and the purchase of People’s Choice Taster Kits support Home of Hope’s mission to strengthen children, youth and families in crisis by providing a broad array of counseling and supportive services in a safe and nurturing environment.

“The need is very real here in Gwinnett,” added Lloyd. “2,000 kids in the Gwinnett County Public School System identify as homeless, and as access to affordable housing continues to decline, those numbers are expected to grow. Families everywhere are feeling the sting of inflation, so what better way to do something good for your community than to gather together for a free, family-focused event that benefits a wonderful local charity. For those attendees who wish to impact Home of Hope directly, we encourage them to purchase a People’s Choice Taster Kit for just $12 each. They’ll get to sample from 9 randomly selected competitors and share their personal pick for favorite – it’s good food for a good cause. We’ve made it our goal to ‘smoke’ the fundraising results from previous years, so we invite everyone to come out and enjoy this one-of-a-kind festival. You can even bring your dog, as long as they’re friendly and on a leash.”