"Pork-Barrel Politics"
While the focus of the festival is Lexington style barbecue, several vendors of the eastern variety can also be found, sparking mild (and sometimes not so mild) controversy. The battle of Lexington style vs. eastern style has even gone as far as the state government. In 2006, North Carolina House Bill 21 and North Carolina Senate Bill 47 were introduced and would have made the Lexington Barbecue Festival the official barbecue festival of North Carolina. A separate amended bill, North Carolina House Bill suggested making the Lexington Barbecue Festival the official food festival of North Carolina. Neither garnered enough support to pass, as nearly half of the state favors eastern style barbecue, sparking genuine controversy about the bill incidentally creating an "official state barbecue" (as opposed to just the festival) with either Lexington or eastern style.
One example of the more light-hearted feud that exists between the proponents of the two types of barbecue is when author Jerry Bledsoe, the self-professed "world's leading, foremost barbecue authority." claimed that Dennis Rogers, (columnist for The Raleigh News & Observer and self-professed "oracle of the holy grub.") "has ruined any chances of this state being distinguished in its barbecue." While a degree of humor is involved, choice of barbecue type is a politically charged topic.
Read more about this topic: Lexington Barbecue Festival
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