Skip to page content

Town of Frisco Colorado

Town of Frisco, Colorado

Home | Search | Staff Directory | Contact | Help

Home > BBQ Challenge Home > History

History

Competitor Carving Meat

A July 1993 story in Modern Maturity about the explosive growth of barbecue cook offs caught the eye of third-generation Coloradoan John Farr, a Frisco insurance executive and barbecue connoisseur who recently moved to Taos, New Mexico. About the same time, while vacationing at her aunt’s Missouri home, former Frisco Marketing Director Gail Carissimi, who was raised on Southern barbecue, read the same article. A few phone calls confirmed what the two barbecue fanatics had suspected: Colorado had no state barbecue competition. Within weeks, Farr and Carissimi, friends and business associates, began planning the inaugural Colorado Barbecue Challenge, which was and remains a Town of Frisco special event.

The State's Official Cook Off

Colorado Gov. Roy Romer recognized the Challenge as the state’s official cook off — a designation that would later become even more key to the event’s success. Twelve teams — split almost 50-50 between Frisco-area professional and amateur chefs — battled it out that first year. In 1995, 21 Colorado teams competed in the second annual Barbecue Challenge, raising $2,500 for the victims of the Oklahoma City bombing.

As organizers planned for the third annual cook off, they applied for sanctioning from the Kansas City Barbecue Society (KCBS). Sanctioning was granted and in the spring of 1996 The Town of Frisco selected the Summit County Rotary Club as their partner to produce the 3rd Annual Colorado Barbecue Challenge. As co-producer, the Rotary Club provides invaluable assistance with planning, silent auction solicitation, country store sales, and volunteer and judge coordination.

Four contest organizers traveled to Stillwater, Oklahoma to observe and assist at the 8th Annual Oklahoma Joe’s & Stillwater Elks Lodge Interplanetary Blazeathon. They brought back new ideas and an appreciation of how a sanctioned contest is judged and conducted.

The 1996 Barbecue Challenge featured 37 teams from all over the country. More than $7,000 was raised for the Rotary Foundation, which sponsors student scholarships among other programs.

In 1997, the contest hosted 37 teams and the Rotary Foundation raised more than $20,000. With more than 4,000 people attending the two-day event, the Colorado Barbecue Challenge had positioned itself among the Kansas City Barbecue Society elite contests. “Head Hog” Brenda Cameron from Summit County Rotary traveled to the American Royal to promote Frisco’s contest and also to new contests in Denver at the Blues Festival and Taos, New Mexico. Brenda is the KCBS District Representative and is hard at work not only on her local contest, but also in the promotion of BBQ throughout the West.

Smoker’s Wild team from Olathe, Kansas won the Grand Championship at the 1998 Coors Colorado Barbecue Challenge. The Town of the Frisco and the Summit County Rotary Club hosted 52 cooking teams from around the state the country that competed in the official Colorado State Championship. More than $20,000 was raised. The 1999 Grand Championship and Reserve Grand Championship were won by the Maurin brothers and their families. Wildfire and Fast Eddy’s took home the top prizes and even Mom and Dad, Charlie and Nellie Maurin, took 6th in the overall rankings. Sixty teams competed selling 27,000 tastes of BBQ and Rotary netted more than $25,000 for their scholarship and other programs. There were 12 perfect scores at the 1999 event, evidence of the high level of competition at the Coors Colorado Barbecue Challenge.

Smokers Wild took home the bacon for the second time as Grand Champs of the 2000 contest. They competed against 57 teams from around the country. There were 65 teams total, however some teams only sell BBQ tastes and do not compete. Summit County Rotary sold more than 45,000 Buck-A-Bone taste tickets and netted a profit of close to $30,000. An Ice Sitting Contest and Kids Que contest were added to the event to increase family and community involvement.

More than 72,000 taste tickets were sold in 2001 for a record $40,000 profit to Rotary. Smokin’ Triggers team corralled the Grand Championship. Johnny Trigg from Alvarado, TX took home the top prizes and Byrd and his Flock were the Reserve Grand Champs. More than 61 teams competed.

Legal Persuasion was sentenced to the Grand Championship in the 2002 Contest. “Let me tell you all a story of a little mountain town … They had a BBQ, the highest one around.” The theme song of the 9th Annual Coors Colorado Barbecue Challenge tells part of the story of the biggest weekend to hit Frisco all summer. More than 100,000 Buck-A-Bone tickets were sold for a net profit to Rotary of a record $55,000. Competing were 76 teams from around the country and The Colorado Barbecue Challenge was voted by Westword Magazine as “The Best Annual Mountain Festival”.

The Colorado Barbecue Challenge in its tenth year in 2003 deemed Tom and Josh’s Orgasmic Slabs from Kansas City, KS as the Grand Champions and Big Dawgs BBQ from Blue Springs, MO as the Reserve Grand Champions. More than 80 teams competed for a record setting year. The 2004 contest moved to June and with more than 50 teams entered, the Town of Frisco and the new non-profit partner the Summit County Chamber of Commerce Visitor Information Centers.

2005 marked the first year of the current BBQ committee comprised of the Town of Frisco, Frisco Chamber of Commerce and Summit County Restaurant Association Education Fund. This new partnership proved to be a formidable one with larger corporate sponsorship and new fun events. The 2005 contest had 53 Teams competing and  the Grand Champion Prize was awarded to the Pink Flamingos for the second year in a row. Reserve grand champion was awarded to Wildman BBQ out of Aurora Colorado.

Both championship teams returned in 2006 and Pink Flamingo scored a third Grand Championship win.  The Boys from Tornado Alley from Sperry Oklahoma garnered the Reserve Grand Championship award.  In 2006 we continued the popular pig races and added two more blocks of event space, so everyone could loosen their belts and add one more rib to the pile.  Profits of more than  $35,000 were split by our great non-profit partners, the Frisco Chamber of Commerce and the Summit County Restaurant Association Education Fund.   

In 2007, the event saw some serious competition.  Three time Grand Champion, Pink Flamingo was out smoked by Smokers Wild taking the Grand Champion title away.  Smoke "n" the Rockies took the Reserve Grand Champion title.  Jabb's BBQ came in 3rd and Pink Flamingo took 4th place.  The Husky Team showed the dessert competitors who's the best again by taking the title for the dessert category with their delicious smoked bananas.  The racing pigs put on a great show for all.  The event proceeds again went to our non-profit partners, the Frisco Chamber of Commerce and the Summit County Restaurant Association Education Fund.

If you too want to become a part of this great history, come check out or cook at the 2008 Colorado BBQ Challenge.  It is slated to be another great year for the Frisco Colorado Barbecue Challenge with over 60 teams competing in the 15th annual Frisco contest.