Owensboro's first International Barb-B-Q Festival occurred in 1979. The tradition started out as nothing more than a barbecue cooking competition. Festival attendees partake in tasting the food prepared by the cooking teams. Each team was associated with a local church. They competed to win the Governor's Cup. Best chicken, best mutton, and best
burgoo are other titles that were granted. Mutton cooking is a particular delicacy in Owensboro. This began with early Welsh settlements in the area. Sheep were heavily relied on for their wool. Once they became mature and stopped wool production, farmers harvested them for their meat. Early German Catholic populations in Daviess County brought the tradition of burgoo. For the 2018 event, it was estimated that 80,000 people would attend and 10 tons of mutton and 5,000 chickens would be cooked. 1,500 gallons of burgoo was also expected to be prepared. In 2020, the festival encountered a hindrance. Due to the pandemic, the event could not take place in its traditional manner. To avoid a complete halt, the Drive-Thru Festival was created. On the weekend the event was planned to be held, free barbecue was distributed by organizers. When restrictions on gatherings were lifted in 2022, the International Barb-B-Q Festival returned with a new title: The Barb-B-Q Block Party. No new changes to the event's activities came along with the name alteration. ==Activities==