BBQ and Bluegrass Festival makes for the ultimate Sunday funday

Summer is ending, yet no one wants to admit it. So put on your party pants Sunday afternoon for Boone Hall's annual BBQ and Bluegrass Festival. It'll take your mind off autumn looming in the distance as you fill your belly with some of Charleston's finest barbecue and your ears with rocking tunes.

"This is the sixth year for us, and the event is continuing to grow," says Rick Benthall, an event manager at Boone Hall. "We love to see all the families out there, throwing Frisbees and footballs around and dancing. It's one of the last big parties for the summer."

One of this year's new events is a BBQ cooking demonstration sponsored by Piggly Wiggly.

The demonstrations will take place twice, one for the afternoon crowd and one for the evening crowd, and will feature cooking expert Jimmy Hagood of Blackjack BBQ.

"We're excited about the cooking demo, and about having Piggly Wiggly onboard," says Benthall. "We really appreciate all of our sponsors."

Gates for the festival open at noon. Music begins at 1 p.m., and there will be plenty of barbecue for sale from various local vendors, beer and beverages for sale, and lots of activities for kids.

Another festival favorite, the celebrity dunking booth, should be popular as well. All proceeds from the dunking booth benefit the American Red Cross. Participants will include Brendan Clark of WCIV News 2, Rocky D from WTMA 1250 AM, Darren Goldwater of the Citadel Broadcasting Network, Bill Shannon of WIOP 95.9 FM, and others.

This year's music lineup will feature the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band headlining, as well as The Dillards.

"The Dillards are best known for appearing and performing on 'The Andy Griffith Show' as a band called The Darlings; you can find it on YouTube," says Benthall. "As for the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, they're a band from the '60s that has managed to keep the four original members. They've also won numerous Grammys. We'll also feature two local favorites, Homeboy Reunion and Blue Plantation."

Jimmie Fadden, the drummer of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, said he is looking forward to the chance to headline at the event. "We'll be there with bells on," he laughs. "It's hard to say we've never been to the Charleston area (we've been on the road for 44 years after all), but it's been a long time. I think the closest we've performed in recent years is Savannah."

The band originated in Long Beach, Calif., when the members met at an independent record store. "That particular store catered to acoustic music," explains Fadden. "It was a shared interest among us, so we started talking."

Fadden describes the band's genre as American roots music. "There's a rural theme and background at work in our music," he explains. "I'd say our main musical influences among the band are Jim and Jesse, Brownie McGhee, Lightnin' Hopkins, Hank Sr., Buddy Holly, Eddie Cochran and basically a good bit of rural blues. We've always been interested in the rural blues rather than urban Chicago blues. Our musical vocabulary definitely stems from the past."

if you go

what: BBQ and Bluegrass Festival

where: Boone Hall Plantation, 1235 Long Point Road in Mount Pleasant

when: noon-9:30 p.m. Sunday

Tickets: $20 in advance for adults and $25 at the gate. $8 for children (6-12), $10 at the gate. Children 5 and under are admitted free with accompanying adult. Advance general admission tickets are available online at www.boonehallplantation.com, Boone Hall Farms Market in Mount Pleasant and all Piggly Wiggly stores in South Carolina.

etc.: Events include a mechanical bull riding contest, celebrity dunking booth, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and more more info: 884-4371, rickb@boonehallplantation.com or www.boonehallplantation.com