Lotta Bull Will Be In Uptown
April 22, 2009
By JENNIFER COLTON
Index-Journal Staff Writer
Greenwood, SC - It may be months away, but teams from near and far are already signing up and preparing for the 2009 Festival of Discovery.
The annual celebration of barbecue, blues, and culture will slide into Uptown Greenwood July 9-11.
- One of the additions to the barbecue competition roster this year could bring more than a little competition: Lotta Bull BBQ, out of Marietta, Oklahoma, have more than 65 grand championships and 600 awards to their credit. Lotta Bull pit master Mike Davis said the husband-wife team enters between 37 to 40 barbecue competitions a year.
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- "This is what we do for a living. We do this full-time now. This is my job," Davis said. "We try to do four or five new ones a year just to keep things interesting."
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- And Greenwood's Festival of Discovery is one of those new stops this year.
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- "We come over into South Carolina quite a bit, and we've heard about it for a couple of years. We have some friends that live over there and always tell us what a good time it was," Davis said.
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- "Last year we were going to come but something happened. Well my friends kept sending me pictures, this year we decided to just go."
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- The Davises have competed with barbecue since 1994 but said they became serious about it in 1999.
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Mike and Debbie Davis
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Currently, Mike and Debbie Davis - along with their two miniature schnauzers Aggie and Gabbie - travel to barbecue competitions across the country. The week the Index Journal caught up with Mike Davis by cell phone was no exception.
"This weekend we'll cook in Winchester, Tenn. Next weekend we'll go to Indio, California, and the next Thursday we'll be in Richmond, Virginia. It's 4,500 miles in 10 days. That's kind of extreme, but that's the way we end up some times," he said.
But both Davis and his wife share a love of cooking, and professional barbecue gives them something to do together.
"It's always been something my wife and I have been very passionate about. It's combined the best of both worlds for us," he said. "We have kind of made a name for ourselves in the barbecue world over the years."
That reputation has Greenwood Assistant City Manager Charlie Barrineau excited about the Oklahoma team's decision to visit Greenwood.
"It speaks to the success of our event. Mike and Debbie are probably one of the top five teams in the country," Barrineau said. "Lotta Bull BBQ is highly known, they're national champions. They bring a huge presence to our event, and we're ecstatic."
And Lotta Bull BBQ isn't the only good news the Festival has received recently.
"Our event was just announced by the Southeast Tourism Society as a top 20 summer event. That recognition is bestowed on the Festival of Discovery and Festival of Flowers. I think that shows a lot about our community that we can grow two successful events and really help our hospitality industry in Greenwood," Barrineau said.
Driving visiting traffic to Greenwood's hospitality services - such as restaurants and hotels - continues to be one goal of the Uptown events, and this year, Festival of Discovery organizers have "tweaked" the event based on feedback from 2008.
"We always look to make improvements, and every year we try to listen to the public. Last year it was loud and clear that they wanted to hear more blues. Now with Polos and Howard's on Main opening, that gives us two great venues that we didn't have last year and we're also adding blues at the Meridian two nights," Barrineau said, of The Index Journal-sponsored Blues Cruise.
"All of that new this year, in addition to the new barbecue teams."
Coming into a new competition with new teams, Davis remained modest about Lotta Bull's chances.
"I guess they're probably good as anybody's," he said. "Of course the guys that live there always have a little bit of an advantage, but we're going to put the best food we can out there and we'll see."
For information about Lotta Bull BBQ, visit www.lottabullbbq.com, or for information on the Festival of Discovery, visit www.festivalofdiscovery.com.
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