Cheers to our sponsors

I plan to do a longer post explaining what Memphis in May BBQ Fest is all about, how I came to be on a team, what I do on the team, etc., as soon as I find time to type it. Right now, though, I want to take a minute to say “cheers” to the sponsors of our team The Ques Brothers. We have a really, really, super cool new sponsor this year and I’m excited beyond belief. I’ll tell you who it is in a minute. I’ll give you a hint – in a sense, you’re looking at it right now. And no, it isn’t me or one of my websites.

First, though, I want to say “thanks” to our returning sponsor, Circa by John Bragg. Circa is back with us for our third year. They’ve been a great help, having provided beer, tables, cups, napkins, a distribution point for membership packets, and lots more in the years they’ve been a sponsor. Plus, their food is pretty darn good. Check out the menu on their website if you’ve never eaten there. Insider’s tip: That new halibut dish that they just added is amazing.

Another returning sponsor is Holliday Flowers.  When we got to our booth space the Sunday before BBQ Fest last year, it was a muddy, smelly pit.  In three days, Brent from Holliday built a structure that looked like a posh nightclub.  We had wood bars, bench seating, a facade that looked like a cliff on Easter Island… we had it all.  He’s back this year and I can’t wait to see what he has in mind.  If you need an event planned or decorated, you really need to give them a call.

All right… now for the announcement of the new sponsor… as I said, in a sense, you’re looking at it right now… because it’s the engine I use to publish my blog. That’s right, WordPress is our newest sponsor. If you want to get technical, WordPress is an open-source project found at wordpress.org. WordPress.com is the commercial arm, and that’s who is sponsoring us.

I wish I could take credit for the sponsorship, but I can’t… team member Otto wrote a significant amount of code for the current version, and for the upcoming beta versions. The head guy, Matt Mullenweg, was in Memphis recently, and Otto had lunch with him. Matt’s a huge BBQ fan, so Otto contacted him and asked if he’d like to sponsor a team.  I hope I get to meet Matt in person this weekend.

Looking forward to a great BBQ Fest with our sponsors… and even more than that, I’m looking forward to Friday at 5 PM, when my week vacation starts.

I still have 10 minutes left in my lunch break – they expanded us to an hour.  Guess I’ll see how much news I can type up before my break is over.