Blues & BBQ Festival (Fairfield Bay)

Fairfield Bay was built as a recreational and retirement community in 1965 on the shores of Greers Ferry Lake, and for more than five decades its relationship with the water has been the foundation of everything the town does well. The Blues and BBQ Festival, held in the Fairfield Bay Entertainment District at 100 Lost Creek Parkway, is one of the clearest expressions of that character: a two-day May event that combines a Memphis Barbecue Network-sanctioned competition with live blues music, arts and crafts vendors, and a Baggo tournament benefiting the local animal shelter. The 2026 edition runs May 22–23, free to attend, with competition cooking beginning Saturday afternoon and music carrying into the evening on both days.

The Memphis Barbecue Network sanction is the event’s competitive credential. MBN-certified competitions are judged on competition ribs and competition pork shoulder by certified judges using standardized criteria, and teams from across the mid-South arrive in trailers carrying offset smokers, custom-built rigs, and fuel wood sourced for specific smoke character. For spectators who have never watched a competition BBQ setup, the size and ambition of the cook rigs alone is worth the visit. Local and out-of-town teams compete through both days, with judging completed by Saturday evening. Beyond the sanctioned competition, food vendors across the festival grounds serve ribs, pulled pork, smoked chicken, and the range of sides that define an Arkansas summer table.

Fairfield Bay and the Lake It Borders

Greers Ferry Lake, impounded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1962 on the Little Red River, covers 40,000 acres with 340 miles of shoreline in Van Buren and Cleburne counties. The lake holds an exceptional cold-water fishery: Greers Ferry produced two world-record rainbow trout in the 1980s, a legacy that has defined its reputation among serious anglers ever since. Fairfield Bay’s marina provides direct lake access for boaters attending the festival, and the town’s rental pontoon boats are a straightforward way to spend a Saturday morning on the water before the competition cooking begins in the early afternoon. The Little Red River below Greers Ferry Dam, accessible from Heber Springs 25 miles south, is one of the premier fly-fishing tailwater streams in the American South, producing consistent trophy rainbows from waters that run cold year-round below the dam’s outflow.

If You’re Going with Kids
The Baggo (cornhole) tournament is open to participation beyond the organized brackets on both festival days, and children respond naturally to the format in a low-pressure lakeside setting. The festival grounds in the Entertainment District have open lawn space suitable for younger visitors to move freely between the music stages and food areas. The bounce house in prior editions has been a consistent feature of the children’s programming; confirm with organizers at visitfairfieldbay.com for 2026 kids’ activity specifics.

Where to Stay on the Lake

Greers Ferry Lake has a well-developed short-term rental market spanning waterfront cabins and full houses with dock access. A lakefront property at Greers Ferry Lake on Lake.com positions you directly on the water within a short drive of the festival grounds. May long weekend properties on Greers Ferry book steadily as both the Blues and BBQ weekend and the Greers Ferry Lake Fest calendar draw visitors from Little Rock and beyond. Plan accommodations at least four to six weeks in advance.