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Longtime Barbecue on the River Team Pulls Out of This Year's Event

Barbecue on the River/Facebook

At least one veteran team has dropped out of this year's Barbecue on the River in Paducah.

The move comes after a year filled with disputes over city funding and management of the lucrative beer garden. Dale Perry says his group - the Good Ole Boys - has been a Barbecue on the River mainstay for 17 years, but won't be cooking this September.

“We’re just not happy the way everything runs,” Perry said. “There’s a lot of questions that haven’t been answered. We asked questions and they called us everything you can think of for asking them that.”

Perry says his group will still cook on occasion to raise money for its scholarship fund.

Shane “Bear” Parker is a Barbecue on the River vendor and acted as an intermediary between the cooks and city officials earlier this year. He says organizers have ironed out most of the issues and this year’s event will be as successful as years past.

“There will be some Good Ole Boys fans wondering what the heck happened, but there will be other barbecue for other people to eat,” Parker said. “That was Dale’s decision and his group’s decision not to come back.”

Barbecue on the River board member Carol Gault said the board respects Perry's decision and appreciated the early notification so they have ample time to fill Good Ole Boys' vacancy. She said 130 vendors have signed up thus far for this year’s event, which gets underway Thursday, September 26.

John Null is the host and creator of Left of the Dial. From 2013-2016, he also served as a reporter in the WKMS newsroom.
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