After being held at Veterans Memorial Park for its first three years, the next edition of the Salamanca Rockin’ Ribfest in upstate New York is set to take place this summer at the 413-room Seneca Allegany Resort And Casino.

Due to be held over the weekend of August 12, the sanctioned competition of the Kansas City Barbecue Society will see amateur and professional “ribbers” cooking ribs, pulled pork and other barbecued foods while arts and craft vendors are to show off their wares all to the sounds of live local music.

“We think this is really going to enhance what we have been doing,” Phil Moyer, President for the Seneca Salamanca Chamber Of Commerce, told The Bradford Era newspaper. “We’ve seen the Salamanca Rockin’ Ribfest grow each year and we hope this will bring more people out and expand what we are doing to promote tourism and business growth in the area.”

Last year’s Salamanca Rockin’ Ribfest saw five “ribbers” but the number of competitors for this summer’s extravaganza is expected to grow as there are thousands of dollars in prize money up for grabs to the best chicken, rib, pork and beef brisket cooks.

“There’s not many sanctioned barbecue events taking place on the west side of New York at this present time,” John Sheehan, Executive Director for the Seneca Salamanca Chamber Of Commerce, told The Bradford Era. “We wanted to try and capitalize on the growing trend.”

The 2016 edition of the Salamanca Rockin’ Ribfest is to moreover offer a 5k run/walk in aid of the Gotta Kiss Cancer Goodbye charity while Sheehan declared that moving the event to the Seneca Allegany Resort And Casino will provide all participants with more room.

“What we’ve seen is anywhere from 10% to 15% growth each year,” said Sheehan. “What did seem to fly is the response from people who want to listen to music, kick back for the afternoon or evening and enjoy the event.”