Thousands of visitors took to Yelm City Park and surrounding streets on Saturday, July 27, for the fifth annual Nisqually Valley Barbecue Rally, which was deemed “incredibly successful” by event organizers.
Dan Nicholson, Yelm Chamber of Commerce president-elect and event organizer, said it’s always hard to gauge how many attendants will attend, but he estimated that more people attended the event than in years passed.
“It was packed,” Nicholson said. “It was incredibly successful. We’re really happy with how it turned out, and we’re excited the community comes out in droves to support this event and local businesses. They play a huge role in this event.”
Steele Barrel BBQ, 1506 W. Yelm Ave., received the “People’s Choice” award for best barbecue, while “Hogs, Hens and Heifers” was voted Amateur Andy’s grand champion by judges. Brown Family Rib Ticklers received the honors of reserve champion.
After Yelm resident Nanette Potter sang the national anthem, the annual youth talent show took place on the park’s stage. Teagan MacDowell took home first-place honors, while Ella Stoddard and Ivy Statler finished in second and third places, respectively
“I loved the performances. The talent show was great in the morning. Some of those kids really put their heart and soul into that,” Nicholson said. “We’d love to bring it back, but it’s tough getting people to sign up for that. Next year, put it on your calendars to sign up.”
Andrew Sponton was crowned the first-place winner of the Youth Burger Challenge, while Noah Parsons and Sawyer Parsons finished in second and third place.
Throughout the day, several different performances took place at the park, including Borderline Dance Team, the “Something Different” band, the Taylor Watts band and the Sammy Steele Band. Attendants of the fifth annual Nisqually Valley Barbecue Rally also had the opportunity to compete in the America’s Credit Union pie-eating contest, which was split into three age groups.
“The music talent throughout the day was great. We’re always looking for entertainment and people looking to perform. They all did a great job, and I feel like the crowd loved them. It felt like there were more people than ever before watching the entertainment,” Nicholson said. “I loved the Borderline Dance Team and the Americana feel that they put out. They were amazing. It was a fun day.
“We put so much work into the event, Shelly and I, the committee, the chamber. There’s so many people involved. When it all comes together and the people are there, the kids are having a good time, the fruits of your labor are paying off, and that’s how we all feel,” Nicholson added. “We love doing this for the community. It was an awesome, awesome day. It went off without a hitch. Sometimes, there’s fires you put out. But this year, there were not very many fires or anything we had to put out. It was really smooth, and that’s because of the people that are involved and have been doing this for five years in a row. They know how to do it.”
The event featured 14 different food trucks, including eight barbecue-only trucks, two “barbecue and then some” trucks and several dessert and coffee trucks.
“We love watching event participation grow. The very first year that we put this together, it was tough. It’s always tough to bring a new event,” Nicholson said. “People are skeptical, and you just don’t know how it’s going to go. It’s helpful that we’ve been planning events like this for over 15 years, and this is, by far, our favorite. I think this event is made for Yelm. It really is.
“We encourage people that want to be involved with helping us plan this to get involved with the chamber,” he continued. “We could use all the help we could get. We accept anybody who wants to help us. It’s not an insider’s club. We’re all friends. We’re all business owners, for the most part.”
The Amateur Andy competition featured its largest field in the five years of the rally. Nicholson said organizers would love to continue to grow the amateur competition, but it’s become difficult as they’re “running out of space.”
“The competitors had so much fun. When they set up Friday night, and we have the beer garden going and the smoke starts building up out of their smokers, it’s an amazing feeling,” he said. “Then, you walk down the Amateur Andy alley, it smells so good. People are playing games in the street. How can you be in a bad mood when you’re sitting around, people are smoking food and having a good time?”
The sixth annual Nisqually Valley Barbecue Rally is scheduled for July 26, 2025, at Yelm City Park.
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For more coverage on the Nisqually Valley Barbecue Rally, see pages B7 and B8.
