When there are seven barbecue tents serving tri-tip beef on a warm, sunny Saturday in August in Aberdeen, the day’s got a strong chance to be a good one.

Except for writers. How many synonyms are there for juicy, tender and lean without sounding too obscure?

Summerfest, which Downtown Aberdeen Association hosts on Broadway Street between Market, Wishkah and Heron streets, was a smash hit. The festival treated about 3,500 people — about 1,000 attendees more than in 2022 — to delectable samples from whom the dynamic duo of Bette Worth and Bobbi McCracken referred to as home barbecuers.

It also showed off the new side of an Oakville restaurant’s menu.

Chrissan Booth, from Oak Burger’s barbecue team “All Fired Up,” was slicing their meats and providing barbecue with a little kick to their customers — thanks to a little cayenne pepper and other secret ingredients. And they prepare all of their food by hand.

“We definitely want to let people know we’re out there,” Booth said as her husband Phil was busy checking on the temperature of the other barbecue — the ribs and chicken they’d turn in for the competition later in the afternoon — on their smokers that were stationed nearby.

Gary Hedger, who mentored Phil in the art of barbecue, has been working on his dry rub recipe for 25 years.

“This is my teacher,” Phil said. “The only reason I’m here is because of this guy.”

While they didn’t win at the competition, they looked like they were having fun and they appeared to pick up a few future customers, which was their goal. People were asking where their business was — 303 E. Pine St., in Oakville — and those tasters sounded as though they were planning on trips out to Oakville just to have more.

“The Misfits” team Alex and Brittney Hoover was one of the stars of Summerfest . The duo won second place in the chicken contest and their tri-tip was delectable. Later on in the afternoon, Alex said people were coming back for seconds, thirds and fourth samples of the meat.

According to Brittney, barbecue isn’t just a way to cook meat for her husband.

“He smokes every chance he gets,” Brittney said. “He smokes in the rain, he smokes in the snow, anywhere.”

Alex, Brittney’s high school sweetheart, said their name was a fitting one.

“She’s the calm, relaxing one and I’m the one who’s kind of all over the place,” Alex said.

The people’s choice awards, which went to the team with the best tri-tip, went to BS BBQ. A team of Aberdeen High School teachers, plus one of their sons, ran a smooth operation as people lined up to taste.

Jesse Winter, one of the smokers of the blueberry-injected tri-tip, sounded confident in their chance to take home some prize money.

“I think we have a good chance,” Winter said. “Last year, we placed third in chicken and there was a four-way tie for second-place in ribs. We’re just having fun.”

The team — Winter, who teaches math; John Kranich, who teaches social studies; and William Rabung, who teaches special education at AHS — showed off their skills with their tender and flavorful tri-tip. Winter’s son was also working hard Saturday.

It’s a wonder how they’ll spend their $380 in prize money. They won $100 for the People’s Choice award, $200 for placing third in ribs and $80 for winning the beans category.

After heading through six BBQ teams —Kick Ash BBQ, BS BBQ, All Fired Up, The Misfits, Porky McBeef and the Cluckers and The Smoke Show — of the seven available, descriptions of the meat were becoming repetitive because all of the tri-tip was juicy, tender and lean. The meat TNT BBQ cooked, spoke for itself as the team won first place in chicken and ribs — a combined $1,000. The team — Tim Putnam and Tracey Staab-Putnam — also won $800 for the Grand Champion.

TNT BBQ competing at Summerfest enjoyed an impressive debut on Saturday. To say the team succeeded would be a vast understatement. Not only did they win $1,800 total, they sold out of tri-tip in 20 minutes.

“It was coming from everywhere,” said Staab-Putnam, who is from Granite Falls. “We got a lot of repeat customers coming through for the third and fourth time with tickets.”

TNT wasn’t the only team to see people come through, other teams saw repeat customers. Improving that is on McCracken and Worth’s minds for Summerfest 2024, because the goal is to get people to try food from every team.

Aberdeen Police Chief Dale Green, Hector Topete, owner of Rancho Alegre Meat and Produce, and Candice Bachtell, retired cooking teacher from AHS, judged the winners in the BBQ competition.

And then, to round out the winners, Kick Ash BBQ won the mystery meat category of bottom round steak — which netted them $100. The team also won $200 for placing third in chicken and another $300 for placing second in ribs, for a grand total of $600.

Emcee Wil Russoul, director of Downtown Aberdeen Association, spoke about the nearby businesses, downtown tours and some of the history of Aberdeen. One fact Russoul shared was how Sam Benn laid brick on roads over sawdust.

Amanda Ransom provided the soundtrack with her soulful voice. She tickled the ivories as she brought the most to each note during her hour-and-a-half long solo set. The Six took over at about 2 p.m. While both acts got people up and dancing, The Six got them line-dancing — which looked popular.

To wash down all that savory barbecue — plus the hearty steak tacos from Rorro’s Tacos — a few vendors sold pop, water and fresh lemonade.

Test of Time Car Club

In addition to filling bellies with samples of barbecue, the Test of Time Car Club provided a feast for peoples’ eyes with beautiful classic cars.

One of the vehicles that won the Best Vintage award belonged to Larry Wyrick. Wyrick’s shiny and all-original 1938 Buick Century was painted — piece-by-piece — about 40 years ago.

The 82-year-old award winner, who won Polson Museum’s Pioneer of the Year, helps restore and maintain the locomotives at Polson Museum, according to Doug Smith, president of Test of Time Car Club.

Smith couldn’t give Wyrick’s 85-year-old car a bigger set of compliments.

“It’s incredible,” Smith said. “You don’t find cars like that.”

Nearby, Jack Bailey sat in front of his 1929 Ford Model-A Roadster pickup truck. The cranberry red-burgundy wine combination paint upon the 94-year-old truck impressed quite a few people.

“God, that’s so beautiful,” one man said.

One potential hangup for a purist, is while it’s a Ford, it’s powered by a Chevy engine. But Bailey explained why.

“Chevy is easy to go in,” said Bailey, who got the car from a friend about five years ago.

And then there were the local businesses on Wishkah and Heron streets. Getting people to check out the local businesses is a big part of Summerfest because McCracken and Worth want people to shop local.

Tinderbox Roasters — 113 E. Wishkah St. — enjoyed a successful morning on Saturday, according to Lorenna Cozar, the barista who was serving hot and iced coffee and tea drinks.

“It’s been a lot busier this morning thanks to Summerfest,” Cozar said. “I’m looking forward to getting off work and experiencing Summerfest.”

The Tap Room — 103 E. Wishkah St. — was also experiencing an uptick in customers. It was the same story during Summerfest 2022. One of the barbecue teams even spoke about their intentions to head over there for a breather from the warm, near 80-degree weather.

One block south, Mount Olympus Brewing — 105 W. Heron St. — sits. The brewery hosted a cribbage tournament. Pat Gagnon won first place and Tim Alstrom won second-place.

As for Worth and McCracken? They were busy. And so were the vendors.

“I had 26,000 steps (according to) my watch,” McCracken said. “I think all the vendors were very happy with the traffic and the sales they had. I think a number of them want to sign up for Winterfest.”

Next Summerfest is set for Aug. 17, 2024. Set your calendars.

Contact Reporter Matthew N. Wells at matthew.wells@thedailyworld.com.

Dezy Lindgren, left, and her mom and dad, Michelle and Dan, worked through Saturday to bring melt in your mouth tri-tip, chicken and ribs for Summerfest. While they didn’t win at the BBQ competition held later in the day, their team — Porky McBeef and the Cluckers — appeared to enjoy themselves Saturday as they were all smiles. “I think it’s been a really fun event,” Dezy said. “It’s great to see people down here enjoying themselves, the food and the atmosphere.”