On Fri. August 8and Sat. August 9 the town of Bel Air hosted the 13th annual Maryland Barbecue Bash. The event is hosted by the Bel Air Downtown Alliance and held in downtown Bel Air.

The MD State BBQ Bash, named as Harford County’s “Best Event” in 2012, is a barbecue themed street festival featuring the Maryland State BBQ Championship, with more than 50 competition teams from the Mid-Atlantic area and beyond competing for cash prizes.

The BBQ Bash features live music with local and Nashville acts, top quality barbecue and other food vendors, sponsor displays, crafters, various merchant vendors, the Bel Air Farmers’ Market, and children’s entertainment in the Little Piggy Fun Zone.

The festival is filled with many of downtown Bel Air’s vendors who use it as an opportunity to attract more customers. The vendors range from those who sell barbeque and candy, to jewelry and crafts, and even to hand carved slingshots and homemade bows and arrows.

The MD State BBQ Bash has grown to be one of the largest, most fun, and most anticipated events of the year in Downtown Bel Air. Great food, great music, great people, the Maryland State Barbecue Championship and the MD State BBQ Bash Tailgate Challenge.

Bel Air High student Grace Cross said “This year I have had the most fun at this local event with my family and friends!”

The MD State BBQ Bash is free for the public and has regularly drawn nearly 30,000 attendees for the two days of the event. It is one of the most anticipated and exciting community events in Harford County and always is a great hit every year it has occurred.