Arcadia Valley Barbecue Battle in June becomes Victim of Coronavirus

(Ironton) The Arcadia Valley Barbecue Society is cancelling this year’s barbecue battle.

The barbecue society says it was a difficult decision but they thought it prudent to put the health and safety of the teams and attendees first, especially the residents of Iron County.

The board is a not-for-profit that uses all proceeds to put on the battle each year.

They also say considerable expenses are incurred prior to the event that cannot be recouped if the event were prohibited from happening. 50-percent of revenues used to put on the barbecue contest comes from sponsors.

They say many of their sponsors are local small businesses and they did not feel comfortable asking them for support in this perilous time.

Officials say postponing the event was not an option due to the uncertainty of continued social distancing recommendations and the calendar of other barbecue contests later in the year.

The 7th Annual Arcadia Valley Barbecue Battle will now be June 11th and 12th of next year.