It Takes a Community to Build Something Special: Thank You to Our Sponsors

The National Barbecue & Grilling Association believes barbecue is about more than the food on the plate. It is about the people gathered around the fire, the stories shared while something is cooking, and the relationships that grow when we come together.

As we prepare for Nashville Fire & Flavor on September 11–12, 2026, at Travellers Rest Historic House Museum, we want to recognize the sponsors and partners who are helping us bring this experience to life.

A very special thank-you goes to:

• Prairie Fresh

• BBQ Pit Boys

• LifeSpace

• Nakia CoCo Charcoal

• Operation BBQ Relief

• Faith & Fires Ministry

Your support allows NBBQA to create opportunities for pitmasters, barbecue businesses, cooks, families, and fans to gather in one place and experience the people, methods, and stories behind the food.

Events like Nashville Fire & Flavor do not happen because of one organization or one person. They happen because people and businesses believe in the barbecue community and are willing to step forward to support it. We are grateful to have each of you beside us.

Is Your Sauce Ready for the People?

While we are thanking the businesses helping us make these events possible, we are also inviting NBBQA members to put their barbecue sauce in front of the people who matter most—the customers who may one day see it on a store shelf, restaurant table, or website.

The NBBQA People’s Choice Sauce Contest will be held at all three stops of our 2026 Live Fire Experience Series:

• Nashville Fire & Flavor — September 11–12 in Nashville, Tennessee

• Greenwood Smoke & Sear — October 9–10 in Greenwood, South Carolina

• Byhalia Fire & Feast — November 13–14 in Byhalia, Mississippi

This is a true People’s Choice contest. Event guests will taste the sauces and vote for their favorites. The sauce labels will be visible, giving participating brands an opportunity to introduce their products directly to barbecue fans.

There will be no judging panel, complicated score sheets, or blind numbers. It will simply be your sauce and their vote.

The entry fee is $40 per sauce, per event. Each brand may enter up to two sauces at each event, and a separate entry form must be completed for every sauce. Entrants are not required to attend the event, so sauce makers from across the country can participate.

Members may enter one event or take advantage of all three opportunities to place their sauces in front of new audiences.

Read the rules and enter the People’s Choice Sauce Contest

Not an NBBQA member yet? This is a great time to become part of a national community created to unite, support, and grow the barbecue, grilling, and live-fire industry.

Join NBBQA

Join Us in Nashville

Nashville Fire & Flavor will feature live-fire cooking, tastings, pitmaster meet-and-greets, live demonstrations, music, vendors, and special VIP experiences with some of the most respected names in barbecue.

Children 12 and younger are admitted free with a paying adult, and parking is free.

Learn more and purchase tickets for Nashville Fire & Flavor

To our sponsors, partners, participants, members, and guests: thank you for believing in what we are building.

The fire may bring us together, but it is the people who make the experience unforgettable.

The Fire Unites Us. We Are Better Together. We Are BBQ.