Farmville to host first Rub'n Shoulders barbecue festival and cook-off

Farmville is home to four barbecue restaurants in an area of about three miles. That proximity to pork is part of the inspiration for the town’s newest event, Rub’n Shoulders.

Scheduled for July 27 at Duck Rabbit Craft Brewery, the summer celebration will include music, children’s activities, food and other vendors.

Millissa Alexander, executive director for the Farmville Chamber of Commerce, said the addition of Rub’n Shoulders is an effort by the chamber to offer a wider array of events for the community. Alexander, who began her new role in September 2023, has a background in marketing and event planning.

“We have historically had one huge event, Taste of Farmville, and it’s our Christmas festival,” she said. “This year, we are launching quarterly events, so we had a spring farm to table wine tasting event. In the fall we will have Octoberfest.”

The barbecue festival will feature a cook-off style competition featuring local cooks.

“They’re going to be bringing their best of the best barbecue sauce recipe and serving samples,” Alexander said. “Then it’s going to be people’s choice, literally. We’ll vote.”

Alexander, who has been promoting the event from Farmville to Raleigh and New Bern, hopes to attract a crowd to the inaugural event.

“Hopefully we’re doing something a little bit different, keeping it small town but also providing something that everybody has the opportunity to sample some really good eastern Carolina barbecue,” she said.