LIBERTY, NY — Saturday, June 15 was a breezy, sunny day, perfect for a walk through the beautiful Walnut Mountain Park in Liberty. That day, the Sullivan Catskills Visitors Association (SCVA), the Greater Liberty Chamber of Commerce and the Town of Liberty teamed up with the prestigious, highly esteemed Kansas City Barbeque Society to host a local Catskills BBQ competition. It was the first of its kind in this neck of the woods and was spearheaded by Sarah Halpern of the SCVA.
Two event areas went on simultaneously. One was highlighted by kids’ activities, craft vendors, live music (by singer and guitarist Ray Castro while I was there) and the mouthwatering flavor of smoky, hot chicken (donated by Murray’s and Carmine’s). The chicken came straight off an enormous grill set up not far from the entrance to the park. There were picnic tables inside a tent (where the ordering and eating took place) and on the lawn. People waited patiently in line to receive their orders for grilled chicken wings or half a chicken and beverages.

Down on the soccer field was the Kansas City Barbeque Society, made up of over 16,000 members worldwide. The BBQ craze is believed to have originated in the 1920s, when Henry Perry began barbecuing in an outdoor pit near his barn, serving slabs of food wrapped in newspaper. Now, many states are known for barbecue and have brought on a slew of road trips to such places as Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Texas, Oklahoma, North Carolina and Arkansas to compare the various styles for which each state is known.
Leaving the first area of festivities behind, my sister Janet and I walked a few hundred feet down a grassy, sloping path to find the BBQ contest in full swing. There was a small table set up in front of the judge’s tables staffed by two members of the Kansas City Barbeque Society. They told us that all the judges were volunteers, and some had been weighing in at various food events for years. There were strict guidelines set up, one of which—to my amazement—was “no finger licking.”
The offerings that day were pork ribs and chicken, and the judges were each given a roll of paper toweling and packets of hand-wipe sanitizing cloths. They were to vote on the chicken and ribs’ appearance, taste and tenderness.
As we ambled over to the competitors’ grills, I was reminded of the Westminster Dog Show, the final and most prestigious of all dog shows, in which entries only get to participate after conquering smaller venues like this one.

Eventually, after a handful of wins are under their belts, the BBQ kings and queens competing this day could one day make it to the big league and enter the KCBS’s champion and world contests.
We walked up to the enormous grills and tables laden with aluminum roasting pans of glistening ribs and chicken, and stopped to chat with some of the people staffing the booths.

The Leaning Jowler BBQ gang was from Pennsylvania and had, indeed, entered the 2023 KCBS champion contest. Fire and Shine BBQ hailed from PA as well and took turns as contestants and judges. The Good Charcoal booth was run by two gutsy 13-year-old girls, and Rough-Cut Q was the fourth competition for a couple of friends, one guy from Massachusetts and the other from Cherry Hill, NJ. They confided that their name had grown out of their first competition, when they were told that their pork ribs were too roughly cut. They came in last at that first competition but had already edged up to second place.
The best part of our visit with the competitors was being fed ribs by both Mark from the Neversink General Store and an SCVA board member, whose offerings were juicy and falling off the bone, slicked with a complex sauce; as well as the guys from Smokin’ in the Barnes, who are also caterers. They offered us slightly spicy honey-glazed ribs that were meaty and delicious. I asked which sides were most popular with BBQ, and they said their specialties are mac and cheese, baked beans and coleslaw.
Before leaving the competitors’ booths, we stopped to talk with SCVA’s Sarah Halpern, who extolled the virtues of the gorgeous Walnut Mountain Park grounds. The park has both soccer and baseball fields, disc golf (a variant on regular golf but using Frisbees or special discs to aim at an above-ground target in as few throws as possible), a picnic area, pavilion, playground—and best of all, hiking trails that allow visitors to experience the lush beauty that is integral to upstate New York. When an event isn’t taking place, parking is free. The park is located at 73 Walnut Mountain Rd. in Liberty.

And the winner was… Leaning Jowler BBQ! I had stopped by their booth as they were busy carefully laying ribs and chicken thighs on beds of curly kale. I didn’t want to bother them while they were working, so neglected to get a bite of the winner’s fare. Maybe next time. And for me, there will be licking of fingers, for sure!