MARTINEZ KING OF THE COUNTY

Your neighbor has a party and you are not invited. This is sort of the feeling we had with the Martinez King of the County festival held this Fathers day weekend. Martinez is right in our backyard. They are having a two day festival which also has two separate bbq contests. We have judged these contest in the past. Somebody new has taken over the judging administration and has brought in her own set of judges. She has shunned experienced judges and opted for celebrity(?) personalities like the mayor, politicians and hand picked friends. I just hope the bbq competitors understand they might have a little bias in the judging tent. I apologize for this mini rant because this is actually a fun event that brings out a lot of backyard competitors to show off their bbq skills.

We did walk around and see if we recognized any pro-teams. We did find some unique cookers like this hand made rig that was impressive. This gentleman designed and forged all the metal work. The tank was originally an air compressor. Big Bertha was another unique fun looking bbq cooker. The competitors all had a great park setting to cook their entries.

There was fun music, the usual fair vendors and lots of food booths. There were a couple of booths selling bbq. We ran into our friends that run Nana Bears Mini Donuts. They are a personal favorite. Who does not love mini donuts?

We really like the "Joltin Joe", a Chris craft boat that Joe DiMaggio once owned. Joe at one time lived in Martinez. His estate donated the boat and the city totally restored it. There was an older gentleman that enthusiastically told us all the details of this boat. I enjoyed his passion towards this boat which gave this exhibit a personal touch.

 

We did not judge today but still had a great time. This is a fun local event. It is held in the waterfront park and is a perfect setting for a festival.  I need to mention this festival had a group of fanatical anti-meat protesters last year. I had a deep down wish that they would have showed up for my own personal enjoyment.  The festival runs today too. Maybe I will get my wish.