If you could invite three people from history to smoke barbecue with you overnight, who would it be? This question and more will be a part of this year’s Virtual Pork in the Park festival taking place the week of June 1.

Mary Alex Kopp, tourism and events manager for the City of Newberry said while originally scheduled for April 17-18, the festival fell right into the middle of Governor Henry McMaster’s work or home order. That, in addition to other executive orders that restricted the function of special events, led the city to rescheduling and then cancelling the event in its physical form with the understanding of it returning in 2021.

“While we recognized that we could not prepare for a physical event, it didn’t mean that we couldn’t spend our office time preparing for a virtual event,” Kopp said. “That’s what led us to our Pork in the Park virtual festival for this year.”

During the week of June 1, Kopp invites the community to follow along with a social media takeover on the city’s Facebook event page, “Virtual Festival – Newberry Pork in the Park.” Those that mark themselves as interested or going to the festival will receive notifications when updates are posted in the event’s discussion tab.

“We’ll have lots of posts going up to celebrate the traditions of South Carolina’s barbecue,” Kopp said. “We hope to encourage folks that this could be a really fun time to learn to smoke barbecue at home.”

From the talented chefs in Newberry to those that may have never cooked barbecue on their own before, Kopp said this virtual event provided a unique opportunity to share how followers were participating by using the hashtag, #NbyBBQatHome.

While it’s not the same as the traditional festival and competition, Kopp said the city felt it was a unique invitation for people to submit their photos of their version of barbecue and helped keep the community engaged.

“It’s a way for us to have something to look forward to, even though we can’t physically gather together,” she said.

Other topics and videos to be shared throughout the week include a coloring sheet of the South Carolina barbecue sauce regions map, a poll of the community’s favorite way to eat barbecue, a barbecue dictionary and a mention of places in Newberry that patrons could purchase barbecue if they weren’t up to making their own.

The South Carolina Parks Recreation and Tourism website, www.discoversc.com has an entire section dedicated to barbecue in South Carolina, Kopp said. As a result, the virtual event page will include articles, information about the history and traditions of South Carolina barbecue along with other information.

“We really hope that people will participate in what we’re able to offer them virtually,” she said. “We want our community to know we’re here for them and want to provide quality programs and experiences even if we can’t gather in person.”

More information can be found online by visiting www.newberryporkinthepark.com.