WhistleStop Festival returns to the Rocket City

After announcing last year that Huntsville’s decades-old BBQ and music festival — the WhistleStop Festival — was coming to an end, some great news was announced this week that the festival is back this year.

The festival is set to return October 20-21 at MidCity, and here’s what you need to know:

More than 20 years of the WhistleStop Festival

For more than 20 years, grill masters from across the region would gather for the festival weekend to compete in both amateur and professional divisions at this festival, which served at the primary fundraising event for the EarlyWorks Foundation.

Visitors enjoyed the BBQ, wings and sides, voted on the People’s Choice Awards, participated in the Alabama Corn Hole Championship and listened to live headliners each night.

Headliners that have played the WhistleStop Festival in Huntsville have included the Gin Blossoms, Marshall Tucker Band, The Rembrandts and dozens more.

The festival has seen thousands of visitors and BBQ cooks from across the United States come to Huntsville to celebrate and take part in the festivities.

However, last summer, the EarlyWorks Foundation announced that the organization would try other fundraising methods outside of the festival, hence ending the festival altogether.

The festival is back

The new version of the WhistleStop Festival — which will still serve as a fundraiser for the EarlyWorks Foundation — will be held October 20-21 in the MidCity District.

Although no details regarding entertainment have been announced, just the news that the festival is returning is already cause for excitement. We will update you on new developments about the festival as we know them.

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