Brick Street BBQ 2009 - Marietta, Ohio

Ready to start summer off with a bang, ColonyFest returns with its usual schedule of music and fun, but this year ReStore Marietta has introduced a Brick Street BBQ Contest and an Antiques Roadshow to this already well-received Marietta event.

Starting Friday, June 5 in the Parking Partners Lot on Second Street, ColonyFest will open its gates at 5 p.m. Guests will be treated to an Early Bird Antique viewing, along with seeing the smoking rigs of restaurants participating in the BBQ contest.

“The [BBQ] contest participants show up Friday, set up, and start cooking because it generally takes all night for those guys to cook,” said Hunt Brawley, director of the Hippodrome/Colony Historic Theatre Association. “Someone is usually camped around their smokers while they cook, and then the competition will formally begin on Saturday, where the judges start judging at 10 a.m.”

The Brick Street BBQ is the first event that Marietta has hosted sanctioned by the Kansas City BBQ Society, according to Brawley. After joining, the Society sends representatives to supervise contestants, then about 20 Kansas City BBQ Society judges have signed up to officiate the event.

Because of the Kansas City BBQ Society's participation, event coordinators are expecting a larger round of attendance. Contest winners will be announced on Saturday, June 6 at 4 p.m.

BBQ isn’t the only side to this event that is sure to make attendance soar, however. With the help of WesBanco, who is sponsoring a rare coins appraiser, ColonyFest coordinators have also organized an antiques portion to the weekend’s festivities.

In addition to the coin appraising by Richard Giedroyc, a representative from Toledo-based HCC, Inc., an antique glass appraiser has been secured for the event, and the inclusion of a general antique appraiser is being finalized.

Finally, this year's ColonyFest will be bringing some of the best local and state-based musicians to its stage, starting with Friday’s headliners Ricky Nye and Johnny Reed & the Houserockers.

Saturday, the fun continues with a section of kids programming lasting from noon to 4 p.m. and featuring magician the Great Gault, a kids play zone, and musicians Rob Lowe of Parkersburg and Ron Sowell of Mountain Stage Music.

Following the kids programming, Saturday night’s festivities continue with music by Maybe Logic, Marietta’s The Fossils, Rick Nye, and Blue Lunch.

“Blue Lunch is very versatile, doing everything from T-Bone Walker, to New Orleans, Professor Longhair, to their own originals,” said Brawley. “It’s one of the best bands out of Ohio. Bob Frank, the guitarist, is just a musicologist. He can play anything from authentic 50s era swing to R&B to New Orleans piano tunes.”

In addition to the main stage acts of ColonyFest, the evening will also consist of a Songwriter Night Contest being held at The Galley on Second Street. Hosted by local musician Todd Burge, this contest begins at 10 a.m.

Todd Burge, who has his own radio show on Z106, performs and records regularly in The Galley’s upstairs listening room and thought that adding this aspect to ColonyFest would be a great way to attract singer-songwriters to Marietta.

The contest will have two winners — one selected by producers of the radio show and one selected by the listeners. Each will receive $150 per songwriter and exposure on the radio show, along with two runners-up.

For the radio show portion of the contest at 7 p.m. there will be an entry charge of $11, but to hear the contestants performing throughout the day there will be no charge.

As for admission to ColonyFest, organizers are accepting a suggested donation of $5 at the entry gate. ColonyFest, Brick Street BBQ, and Antiques Roadshow will be happening all day June 5-6. For more information about the event, visit www.colonytheatre.com.

Colony Theatre tours will also be running on the hour on Saturday from 12-6 p.m. There is no charge for the tour; however, donations would be appreciated.