Ohio Valley residents and beyond, are you ready to get your BBQ on?
That’s right, the annual Italian Festival isn’t the only event returning to Wheeling’s Heritage Port this summer.
The Ohio Valley Rib and Chicken Cook-Off is also officially returning and is set for Friday and Saturday, June 25-26 at the waterfront.
Food vendors will line Water Street with craft vendors, entertainment, and a host of other activities will be available.
This will be the festival’s 11th edition after pandemic restrictions nixed the 2020 event, along with all other annual summertime excitement at the waterfront.
That’s part of why event organizer Tonya Woody is expecting a great turnout—that and the people of Ohio Valley enjoy great food.
“Me, I am one of those people,” Woody said with a laugh about how the Valley likes its food festivals. “When I get here, I get my funnel cake, my ribs, and then some shaved ice. I’m here to eat.
“We want people to come out and be safe, and we’re following the guidelines to make sure everything is safe. But it’s been a long time and I think everybody is tired of being stuck in the house, tired of not having anything to do.
“People have been following the guidelines and they are ready to enjoy themselves. Plus, we’re outdoors.”
Events get underway Friday, June 25th at noon and run until 11 p.m. The festival follows the same schedule the following night on Saturday.
Woody admitted the festival used to be three days, but the Sunday turnout never matched the packed streets from Friday or Saturday.
“I think everybody enjoyed themselves maybe a bit too much on Friday and Saturday and couldn’t come out on Sunday,” Woody theorized. “So, we decided to condense it down to two days and put our all into those two days.”
Vendors come from all over the tri-state area to delight the crowds and hopefully catch the favor of the judges. 
A large turnout is expected as Ohio Valley residents, ready to cast off the pandemic restriction restraints, are ready to eat, mingle, and enjoy themselves socially once again
Award-Winning Food
The festival may be a celebration of good food and good times, but the vendors themselves come for more than just selling their delectable wares.
They want those bragging rights.
Judging is held annually with awards being bestowed for Best Ribs, Best Chicken, People’s Choice, along with the top honor, the Carl Carenbauer Grand Champion Award.
In 2019, Big Pappy’s BBQ from Howard, Ohio took home the honors for Best Chicken and the Carenbauer Award. Chillin & Grillin took the Best Ribs category, while the People’s Choice honor went to Big Girls’ BBQ from Elrama, Pa.
All three vendors are back to defend their titles. No doubt the competition will be fierce as more and more vendors are signing on to participate.
“Many are coming back from two years ago, and we try to make additions to rotate and get different flavors, so we added a couple newer vendors,” Woody said. “We like to get more of a variety.”
Judging is done by eight local tasters, who rate each entry on a scale of 1-to-10. It’s done by blind judging, so the judges don’t realize which vendor crafted each entry.
Woody noted that when it comes to judging, she defers to fellow event organizer Bill Brooks of St. Clairsville.
“He handles all of that part. That’s his area,” said a smiling Woody. “It’s his favorite part.”
There’s a reason that vendors keep coming back year after year—the people and the large turnout.
Woody admitted that for newcomers to the festival, sometimes they don’t bring or prepare quite enough food that first day because they are thinking Wheeling isn’t a major city so maybe it won’t be that crowded.
They soon discover that’s a welcomed, incorrect assumption.
“You’ll get some vendors that have really long lines, and they actually sell out and they’re done for the day,” Woody said. “They may think because it’s smaller that they won’t sell as much. But they will. And if it’s nice out, the streets will be packed.”
This picture is from the 2014 festival, showing one of the pitmasters surveying his work. 
Live music is also a fixture of both days of the festival
Rib and Chicken Cook-Off – A Growing Festival
The Rib and Chicken Cook-Off grew out of the Ohio Valley Black Heritage Festival. Both Woody and Brooks are on that committee.
Woody set up her own food stand during the early days of the festival and noted that Brooks approached her one year about expanding the food offerings for the festival.
As the years have gone by, the festival has morphed into the Ohio Valley Rib and Chicken Cook-Off. It’s still held the same time, the last Friday and Saturday during June.
“The purpose of the festival is to bring together people of all races, heritages, genders, and religions to socialize and communicate,” Brooks said in the event’s official press release.
And what brings people of all backgrounds together better than delicious food?
Woody noted there’s also refreshments available, including beer and other adult-style beverages like the Bud Light Lime-a-Rita and Straw-ber-Rita products sold by Anheuser-Busch.
So come on down to the waterfront the last week of June. Have a drink or two, feast upon the BBQ and other variety of food vendors, take in the craft vendors and others selling their wares, and enjoy some quality entertainment.
Live music will be featured both days, with the lineup finalized closer to the festival.
Woody and Brooks wanted to thank the festivals many sponsors for help making the annual event possible, including Wheeling Heritage, Wheeling-Ohio County CVB, Carenbauer Wholesale Distributor, the Ohio County Commission, WesBanco Bank, Fitzsimmons Law Offices, Wal-Mart, Lowe’s of Wheeling, West Virginia Division of Culture & History, Riesbeck’s Food Markets, and the City of Wheeling.
