[img:ILBBQ.jpg]LAKE PLACID, N.Y. - The aromas from the pit bosses will once again waft from the Olympic Speed Skating Oval in Lake Placid when the 8th Annual I Love BBQ and Music Festival, benefitting the Thomas Shipman Youth Center in Lake Placid, returns July 4-6.

The I LOVE BBQ Junior World Championships will take place on Friday, July 5, while Grand Champion and New York State Championship titles will be decided on Saturday, July 6. Paul Smiths College of the Adirondacks will offer $20,000 in scholarship money for the medal winners in the junior world championships.

These events are sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbecue Society (KCBS), which is offering $8,500 in prize money, the most in the history of this event. In addition, the junior world champions will receive $4,000 from the organizing committee. Three-time and defending junior world champion Tiffany Londeen, of Eden Prairie, Minn., will bring her PepperQue team back to Lake Placid. She will be joined by several brothers.

Most recently, delish.com ranked the I Love BBQ and Music Festival among its' top 10 barbecue-themed events and festivals in the country.

In addition, the KCBS has ranked the Lake Placid festival in its top 20 nationwide. As a result, the Great American Barbecue Tour will come to the Olympic Oval each day to showcase its culinary talent and offer tastings to the public of different products, both barbecue and non-barbecue.

Also, pitmaster Andy King from the Bastey Boys in Massachusetts, a participant every year, recently taped a television segment with Destination America's BBQ Pitmasters prior to their Lake Placid commitment.

USA Luge, the national governing body for the sport in the United States, helps support the organization of the annual event as a means of giving back to its home community.

Daily admission is $6 for adults; children under 10 will be admitted free of charge.

Festival patrons can sample the many barbecue delicacies during the weekend. There will be a pulled pork tasting event on July 4 from 1-3 PM for $3 per person. A $3 Rib Fest, where the general public can sample the best ribs in the East, will be offered on July 5 from 1-3 PM. It was formerly known as buck-a-rib, and is held in memory of former festival competitor Mike Grudzinskas.

Milano North will sponsor the Top Chef competition on July 5, all day, beginning at 12 PM. This event, featuring local chefs and pit masters, will enable patrons to view a food demo, with tasting to follow. The Top Chef event is dedicated to the memory of former competitor and Lake Placid Grand Champion Nancee Gell.

Live music, including appearances by Sven Curth, Larry Stone and the Stoneground Express, and other local acts will perform under the tent over the three days.

Entertainment will also come in the form of the Krusher BMX Stunt Team, with its high-energy BMX bike and in-line skating exhibitions, all three days. There will be a kid's bounce around area, face painting and coconut climbing trees as well. And for the second time in festival history, Dynomite, a mechanical bull, will appear in Lake Placid.

In the previous seven years of the event, nearly $130,000 has been raised for the Thomas Shipman Youth Center through the I LOVE BBQ AND MUSIC FESTIVAL.

MUSIC SCHEDULE

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Search the entire calendar of events HERE !