Beer, BBQ, Beef Jerky, Whisky, Haircuts and Rock and Roll – what more could a Man want in a festival? That’s exactly what was on offer at the recent Man Date Festival in Toowoomba on Saturday the 22nd of April.

Bigwig Jerky made the trip up the range through fog and light rain for the second annual festival, this time at the Old Mill Precinct, a rustic old warehouse converted to a funky, industrial event space – perfect for a manly festival. It was great to see familiar faces from last years event and the events pace layout allowed for market stalls, bars and entertainment to all be contained within the same area. A welcome change from last years event which saw our Jerky stall somewhat isolated away from the entertainment and main crowd.

Event organiser Dan Graff from Beard Boutique certainly outdid himself this year with a wonderful event for young and old, something the people of Toowoomba have truly adopted as a must do festival. Bearded lads dotted the crowd and were a popular feature again in this years Mustache and Beard competition, with impressive facial hair on show. Little Billy had the dancefloor in a spin, whilst Juzzie Smith brought his amazing skills to the stage wowing everyone with a mix of blues and groove and fantastic beats.

The meat was smoking low and slow overnight ready for hungry mouths and the Smoking Hot Bros did not disappoint with their delicious offerings of ribs and brisket. Market stalls provided the punters with everything from chilli chocolate, meat rubs, salami and of course beef jerky from Bigwig Jerky. It’s always great to get out to markets and festivals and meet customers new and existing and discuss our jerky. The satisfaction from watching people work their way through the samples of each flavour and struggle to decide which they prefer because they like them all really makes running this business worthwhile!

A big thanks to Dan and his support crew for putting on a great event 2 years running. For those who didn’t attend, there is always next year. We will be back!