I love the idea of a BBQ festival and was so excited, but this one wasn't executed well at all. I read the reviews from last year ahead of time and had high hopes that some of the kinks would have been worked out. Not so.
I hate the "ticket" system. Stand on one line just to get tickets so you can then stand in another line to get food. The ticket booth outside the gate is the only one that will take a card (lines here were way shorter than the booth inside). Some vendors accept cash but it's not consistent. A ticket is worth $2 and most vendors have the dollar amount and ticket amount listed on their menu, but I did notice one (can't remember the name) that had a sandwich listed as $3 (2 tickets). Seriously...get rid of the ticket system. It's too much of a headache.
The kids area was fun, until it got too hot and the inflatables were burning children. An unlimited wristband was $15 or tickets were $1 each. Half way through the day the guys manning the inflatables just kind of gave up and stopped taking tickets or checking wristbands. (To be fair, it might not have been all of them but I did witness about 4 or so doing this).
There was no shade, no mister system, crazy long lines...such a disappointment. In hindsight, maybe the $60 VIP ticket would have been a better choice because the amount of money I spent was a waste. Wishing we stuck with our original plans to go to the Four Peaks Fest instead.