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Holy Smokes BBQ Festival 2026: the lineup, tickets and parking at Riverfront Park in North Charleston

Holy Smokes BBQ Festival returns to Riverfront Park in North Charleston on Saturday, November 14, 2026, from 11am to 4pm. A $95 ticket covers all-you-can-eat barbecue from four pitmaster villages and more than 50 pitmasters and chefs, and a $250 VIP ticket adds early entry, its own parking and an all-inclusive bar.

Two paper plates on a wooden table hold sliced brisket, pulled pork, ribs, sausage, collard greens, macaroni and cheese and a pecan tart, beside a Holy Smokes lanyard and bowls of beans and beet salad.

Photo: Holy Smokes

Holy Smokes BBQ Festival brings more than 50 pitmasters and chefs from across the country to Riverfront Park in North Charleston for one afternoon of barbecue, live music and cold drinks. The sixth festival is on Saturday, November 14, 2026, from 11am to 4pm, and one ticket covers all-you-can-eat access to four barbecue villages: Traditional, Texas, New School and Coastal.

Aaron Siegel and Taylor Garrigan of Home Team BBQ and Anthony DiBernardo of Swig & Swine started the festival in 2021 with barbecue writer Robert Moss, John F. Davis and Joe Norton. It has raised more than $460,000 since, and the 2026 proceeds go to Hogs for the Cause, which gives grants to families of children with brain cancer, and to Ronald McDonald House Charleston, across the street from MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children's Hospital. The Holy Smokes event listing carries the date and place.

An aerial view of Riverfront Park on festival day, with white tents and crowds spread across the lawn, a curving waterfront path and the river along its edge.
Riverfront Park on festival day.Photo: Holy Smokes
Date
Sat, Nov 14Rain or shine
Hours
11am to 4pmVIP from 10:30am
Tickets
$95VIP $250
Place
Riverfront ParkNorth Charleston

Lineup

Each village serves a regional style, and a general admission ticket opens all four.

RestaurantVillagePitmasterFrom
Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-QTraditionalChris, Jacob and Andrew LillyDecatur, AL
Bobby's BBQTraditionalTay NelsonFountain Inn, SC
Fork Grove BarbecueTraditionalDylan CookeAnderson, SC
Martin's Bar-B-Que JointTraditionalPat MartinNashville, TN
Peg Leg PorkerTraditionalCarey BringleNashville, TN
Pitmaster RodneyTraditionalRodney ScottCharleston, SC
Sam Jones BBQTraditionalSam Jones and Michael LetchworthWinterville and Raleigh, NC
Swig & SwineTraditionalAnthony DiBernardoCharleston, SC
Evie Mae's Pit BarbecueTexasArnis and Mallory RobbinsWolfforth, TX and Miramar Beach, FL
Feges BBQTexasPatrick Feges and Erin SmithHouston, TX
Green Street Smoked MeatsTexasDave BonnerChicago, IL
Hoodoo Brown BarbequeTexasCody SperryRidgefield, CT
Moo's Craft BarbecueTexasAndrew and Michelle MuñozLos Angeles, CA
Truth BBQTexasLeonard Botello IVHouston, TX
Wright's BarbecueTexasJordan WrightFayetteville, AR
Fox Bros Bar-B-QNew SchoolJonathan and Justin FoxAtlanta, GA
Holy City Hogs & Cracklins and CaviarNew SchoolTank JacksonCharleston, SC
Home Team BBQNew SchoolAaron Siegel, Taylor Garrigan and Jonathan BantaCharleston, SC
Mama Jean's BarbecueNew SchoolMadison RuckelRoanoke, VA
Pig Beach BBQNew SchoolMatt Abdoo and Shane McBrideQueens, NY
Tuffy Stone BBQ ProvisionsNew SchoolTuffy StoneRichmond, VA
Blue Hound BarbecueCoastalKyle BrynerDillard, GA
Blue Oak BBQCoastalRonnie Evans and Philip MoseleyNew Orleans, LA
Bowens IslandCoastalJames Hardin and Aidan LyonsCharleston, SC
DAS BBQCoastalStephen FranklinAtlanta, GA
Southern Smoke BBQCoastalMatt RegisterGarland, NC
A pitmaster in black gloves lines up briskets wrapped in butcher paper on a table beside a large steel offset smoker.
Wrapped briskets beside an offset smoker.Photo: Holy Smokes

VIP Lineup

Nine more pitmasters and chefs cook in the VIP area, open to VIP ticket holders.

RestaurantPitmaster or chefFrom
17th Street BarbecueAmy MillsMurphysboro, IL
Acre, Bow & Arrow BBQDavid BancroftAuburn, AL
Blanca EstradaMichael ToscanoCharleston, SC
Cane Pazzo & Reenie'sMark BolchozHanahan, SC
Certified Angus BeefVenoy Rogers IIIWooster, OH
Hog & HominyMichael Hudman and Andy TicerMemphis, TN
King BBQShuai and Corrie WangNorth Charleston, SC
Lola Rose & The GroceryKevin JohnsonCharleston, SC
Pêche & CochonRyan Prewitt and Stephen StryjewskiNew Orleans, LA

Music

The Whiskey Biscuits and The Betsy Franck Band play the music stage, with special guest Robert Chaffee and Cameron Williams as artist in residence. Lawn chairs, camping chairs and picnic blankets are allowed in the area by the stage.

Festival-goers sit in folding camp chairs and walk across a sunny lawn lined with white tents under a blue sky.
Camp chairs on the lawn at Riverfront Park.Photo: Holy Smokes

Tickets

Tickets are sold through Eventbrite and on the festival day, and the festival says they may sell out before November 14.

TicketPriceIncludes
General admission$95Entry from 11am; all-you-can-eat food from the four pitmaster villages; bites from more than 50 chefs; live music; water. Other drinks are sold separately.
All-inclusive VIP$250Everything in general admission, plus early entry at 10:30am, a VIP entrance, VIP parking, the VIP area and its chefs, and all-inclusive bars with beer, wine and liquor, water and soft drinks.
Child, 7 to 13$25Added to an order on Eventbrite.
Child, 6 and underFree
  • VIP parking. Each VIP order receives one parking pass, emailed the evening before the festival.
  • ADA parking. ADA parking is added to an order at purchase.
  • Transfers. Tickets are non-refundable and can be transferred to someone else. Help with a transfer comes from [email protected].
A hand reaches into a shallow pan of rock salt set with roasted oysters, each topped with a crisp garnish, on a table decorated with oak leaves and feathers.
Roasted oysters at a festival table.Photo: Holy Smokes

Drive Times

Riverfront Park is at 1061 Everglades Avenue, North Charleston, SC 29405. These are Google's drive times for the Saturday morning of the festival:

FromDistanceDriveLeave by
Downtown Charleston8 miles16 minabout 10am
Mount Pleasant10 miles16 minabout 10am
Summerville22 miles28 minabout 9:45am
Beaufort71 miles1 hr 29 minabout 8:45am
Bluffton93 miles1 hr 58 minabout 8:15am
Savannah107 miles2 hr 1 minabout 8:15am
Hilton Head Island98 miles2 hr 4 minabout 8:10am

The leave-by times put a car at the general admission lots around 10:15am, after they open at 10 and before the gates open at 11. A VIP car aiming for the 10:30 early entry can leave half an hour earlier, as the VIP lot opens at 9:30. From Charleston and Mount Pleasant the route is I-26 west, from Summerville I-26 east, from Beaufort, Bluffton and Hilton Head Island US 17 north, and from Savannah I-95 and then US 17 north. After the 4pm close, Beaufort is home around 5:30pm, and Bluffton, Hilton Head Island and Savannah around 6pm.

Smoke drifts over a crowd standing at high tables in front of a stage hung with a Holy Smokes banner, behind a low picket fence.
Smoke over a village at Riverfront Park.Photo: Holy Smokes

Parking

  • General admission. First come, first served in the lots around Riverfront Park, opening at 10am, with signs and parking attendants on site.
  • VIP and sponsors. A dedicated lot closest to the festival, with an attendant, opening at 9:30am.
  • ADA. Opens at 9:30am.
  • Rideshare. A dedicated Uber and Lyft drop-off point sits on site, and the festival recommends ride sharing.
  • Final details. Construction near the park means final parking details arrive by email the evening before the festival.
  • Overnight. There is no overnight camping or RV parking.

Packing and Booking

  • The ticket, with a child's ticket and ADA parking added at purchase where needed.
  • A clear bag or a small clutch. Clear bags of any size are allowed, and clutches up to 4.5 by 6.5 inches. Diaper bags and strollers are allowed, and every bag may be searched.
  • A camp chair or picnic blanket, for the area by the music stage.
  • Drinks, sold separately on a general admission ticket. Water is included, and the VIP bars are all-inclusive.
  • A rideshare, to the dedicated drop-off point on site.
  • A partner hotel, for a night in North Charleston, at a festival rate while rooms last: the Holiday Inn Express & Suites Charleston Airport at 3025 W. Montague Avenue (843-554-2100, ext. 3) or the DoubleTree by Hilton North Charleston Convention Center at 5264 International Boulevard (843-576-0300).

Clothes are casual. The whole festival is outdoors, and it runs rain or shine.

Rows of split chicken halves, charred and glazed, cook on a wide black metal grill grate.
Chicken on the grill.Photo: Holy Smokes

Festival Rules

  • No outside food or drink.
  • No weapons or firearms.
  • No pets. Service animals are welcome.

Riverfront Park, 1061 Everglades Avenue, North Charleston, SC 29405 · Saturday, November 14, 2026, 11am to 4pm · Holy Smokes BBQ Festival · Tickets · Festival FAQ