The largest barbecue competition and tasting festival in St. Louis, Q in the Lou, has been canceled. The event was planned for Sept. 6-8, but organizers decided to cancel it due to poor ticket sales and insufficient corporate sponsorship.
The traveling festival had low attendance in Denver last week, said Sean Hadley, a festival organizer.
鈥淲e made the tough decision to cancel Q in the Lou,鈥� said Hadley. 鈥淲e're seeing a lack of support 鈥� it's just not there.鈥�
The traveling event began in St. Louis in 2015 and drew hundreds of people to downtown St. Louis for barbecue, live music and a 鈥渕ajor party.鈥�
鈥淚t shut down out of the blue 鈥� I've gone every year,鈥� said Scott Thomas, local chef and food blogger. 鈥淚t's brilliant. You could take a tour of some really amazing barbecue restaurants and competition barbecue guys all in one place.鈥�
In a , city officials touted Q in the Lou as a significant tourism draw and a boost for downtown revitalization.
鈥淏ringing a signature national festival back to downtown St. Louis 鈥� is making us stronger,鈥� Greater St. Louis Inc. CEO Jason Hall said then.
Less than a month later, ticket holders from every festival stop learned they鈥檇 be refunded. On Monday, organizers privatized the Q in the Lou website and deleted its social media accounts.
Conner Kerrigan, a spokesperson for Mayor Tishaura Jones鈥� office, said city officials are disappointed the festival won鈥檛 be back this year.
鈥淪t. Louis knows how to throw a festival 鈥� bringing people together to celebrate our culture is one of the things we do best as a city,鈥� Kerrigan said in a statement. 鈥淪hould Q in the Lou try to come back next year or any year after that, they鈥檒l have the support of the Mayor Jones administration.鈥�
This story has been updated to reflect that Q in the Lou started in St. Louis.
