SmokeSlam’s back on the river, bigger and smokier
As a veteran of more than a dozen previous barbecue festivals, Alex Boggs knew what he was in for after a night of meat, alcohol and partying.
That’s why Boggs, the son of the late Huey’s founder Thomas Boggs, was sitting in his team’s tent at SmokeSlam BBQ Festival Thursday, May 15, with an IV plugged into his arm, receiving electrolytes and fluids so that he wouldn’t flag during the evening’s festivities.
“I’m taking an IV just to make sure I get ahead of the game,” said Boggs, who wasn’t the only team member with an IV in his arm Thursday afternoon. “We want to make sure that we can enjoy the party this evening, but also be ready to go this weekend with the sun, the sweat, the amount of steps you put in. You got to be ready.”
While he may have been one of the few taking such precautions, Boggs was one of thousands gathered in Tom Lee Park for the first day of the second installment of SmokeSlam, the area’s second major barbecue festival and a direct challenger to the long-established Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest.