Night one of Jammin in JC Blues and Barbecue Festival roped in a slew of spectators to Heritage Park in downtown Junction City.

Bob Cervera, Event Coordinator, said that this is one of the best opening nights to date with well over a thousand people in attendance.

Weather permitting, Cervera hopes to see the number of people in attendance around four or five thousand.

Bud Cox, Part-Owner of Cox Brothers BBQ, said that he’s impressed with the Friday night turnout.

“It’s amazing, it’s double what it was last year…tomorrow is really going to be off the charts, it’s going to be really, really special; seriously, we’ve got the best lineup that we’ve ever had in all the years that we’ve done Jammin in JC ,” said Cox.

A big selling point for a Jammin in JC is the barbecue and blues combination.

“The barbecuers come here because of the blues and it all goes together; it’s just a cool event and I thin that’s going to bring a lot of people, having all the barbecuers – having the number one barbecuer in the country here doesn’t hurt anything,” said Cervera.

Last year’s Barbecue Grand Champion, John Beaver of Grillin Beavers traveled all the way from Colorado – and he is back to defend his title.

“There’s a lot of very good teams here this year – a lot more than there was last year – the top team in the country is [here] and I think there’s a couple more in the top ten that are here also…whoever wins is going to earn it,” said Beaver.

Cheryl Hill, a Junction City native, of The Smoking Hills based out of Overland Park, KS, finished in 2nd place overall in last year’s competition. A husband – wife team, The Smoking Hills see the art of barbecue as a science.

“We cook every weekend so we’ve almost got this down to a science, we just have to do our normal thing, turn in good food and hope for the best,” said Hill.

And what goes better with good food on a warm night in September than a cold beer?

Terry Dow, Owner of Flint Hills Beverage, said that the beer sales from night one are impressive.

“The crowd is a lot busier today than it was last year – but the temperature is a lot better too – so hopefully [sales will be] a lot more than last year; we sold 120 cases last year so hopefully this is a good start for the weekend,” said Dow.

Jammin in JC continues Saturday with music beginning at 1:00 pm, and the Barbecue Contest results at 3:55 pm.

Cervera said festivals like this shed a positive light on Junction City.

“I heard some people talking the other day about all the hotels being full…and it brings money to town, and it’s a great image for our town; there’s other towns that can’t do this and it happening here,” said Cervera.