Chefs grilling up their best barbecue chicken, pork, ribs and brisket will vie for top honors during the 2017 Cornelia Apple Blossom BBQ Competition from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, April 22.

But the added bonus is attendees will get a one-ounce taste of the judged food. The downside is only 100 tasting tickets are for sale for $10.

Cornelia Community Development Manager Jessie Owensby said those tickets will go on sale at 11 a.m.

“We are not doing presale this year,” she said.

However, those lucky 100 ticketholders will get to vote on their favorite Brunswick stew during the competition. Tasting will begin at 2 p.m.

For those unable to purchase a ticket, the festival has plenty of other activities to entertain themselves. Local entertainers will perform from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and children can play in the kid zone for a fee.

The city is also hosting free events such as a “Chopped” competition, a rib-eating contest and a Traegerfest. In the “Chopped” competition at 1:40 p.m., a group of men will be given a cooking task to complete in 45 minutes.

“‘Chopped’ is like what you see on TV,” Owensby said, explaining the contestants will have mystery cut of meat and a crazy ingredient to incorporate in a dish. “And these people don’t know how to cook. That will be pretty funny.”

Brand new this year is a Traegerfest, hosted by Habersham Hardware at the depot.

“Trager is a type of grill, kind of like a Green Egg,” Owensby said. “They will demo on grills and tastings there.”

For more information, contact Jessie Owensby at 706-778-8585 ext. 280 or visit Cornelia Main Street’s Facebook page: www.facebook.com/corneliamainstreet.