BBQ Bonanza

The BBQ Bonanza returns to the Huntingdon County Fairgrounds in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, for its annual two-day community festival benefiting Huntingdon County United Way and Huntingdon County PRIDE. The event is scheduled for mid-May 2026 on the fairgrounds property, which sits within sight of the surrounding Allegheny Mountain ridgeline and within 10 miles of Raystown Lake, Pennsylvania’s largest lake entirely within the state’s borders. The weekend program covers a competitive BBQ cook-off, live entertainment across both days, Cody’s Cruise-in and Car Show, touch-a-truck activities for younger visitors, kids’ entertainment programming, and a craft and food vendor market that fills the fairgrounds’ public areas from open to close.

The cook-off is the competitive centerpiece, drawing teams from across central Pennsylvania who smoke and grill through the day in competition categories that typically include pork ribs, whole hog, chicken, and open categories. The car show runs concurrently, drawing a mix of classic American muscle, vintage imports, and working-truck entries that have made Cody’s Cruise-in a standalone draw for the region’s car culture community. Together the two competitions give the BBQ Bonanza a format that suits a family with varied interests: the cook-off keeps food enthusiasts engaged while the car show provides a parallel draw that keeps the fairgrounds moving throughout the weekend. All proceeds support the Huntingdon County United Way and Huntingdon County PRIDE, making attendance a direct contribution to the county’s community service infrastructure.

Good to Know
Specific 2026 BBQ Bonanza dates were not confirmed at time of publication. Contact the Huntingdon County Fairgrounds at 814-643-2750 or the Huntingdon County United Way directly to confirm the 2026 event dates and registration details for the cook-off and car show. Source listing dates are flagged for organizer verification.

Raystown Lake: The Water That Makes Huntingdon Worth the Drive

Raystown Lake, impounded by Raystown Dam in 1978 and covering 8,300 acres at full pool, is Pennsylvania’s largest Corps of Engineers reservoir and the only lake of its scale entirely within the state. The lake reaches 180 feet at its deepest point and stretches more than 28 miles up the Raystown Branch of the Juniata River. Raystown Lake supports a trophy striped bass fishery that has produced state-record fish, alongside an established largemouth and smallmouth bass population, and a lake trout fishery in the lake’s coldest deepest zones. The Allegrippis Trails, built along the lake’s south shore in partnership with Dirt Rag Magazine and the Corps of Engineers, provide more than 40 miles of purpose-built mountain bike singletrack with consistent lake views and direct water access at several points along the trail system.

Huntingdon Town and Its Broader Context

Huntingdon, founded in 1796, sits on the Juniata River at the base of Warrior Ridge and has a well-preserved Victorian commercial district along Penn Street that has remained largely intact since the railroad era. The Raystown Dam Visitor Center, eight miles east of town on Raystown Road, offers free exhibits on the dam’s construction history and the lake’s ecology, with observation decks overlooking the spillway. Lincoln Caverns, four miles west of Huntingdon on US-22, has operated as a show cave since 1930 and provides a reliably cool underground environment that works well as a mid-day excursion during a warmer festival weekend.

Where to Stay

Huntingdon’s motel and inn inventory is modest but functional, with the most concentrated options along US-22. For a full lakeside experience, Raystown Lake’s shoreline cabins and vacation rentals, many operated through the Corps of Engineers or available via local rental platforms, provide the most complete connection to the lake environment. Look on Lake.com for properties near Raystown Lake that position you between the fairgrounds and the lake’s marina and trail access points for a complete Huntingdon County weekend.