John Shelton Reed is coming to Louisiana to speak on barbecue. The grand old man of southern barbecue letters has spent the last 50 years establishing his bonafides. In 2009 his book ‘Holy Smoke: The Big Book of North Carolina Barbecue’ was released to wide acclaim, and helped cement his reputation as an authority on cooking meat with fire.

More recently, Reed has been in the papers of his state of residence, North Carolina, for stating his intentions to establish an official “Wilmington Barbecue” holiday on the fourth Monday of each February.

He makes a compelling case drawing on his formidable knowledge of the state’s history. It seems that in February of 1766 when “the Royal Governor of North Carolina, William Tryon, attempted to win the New Hanover militia’s good will by treating them to a barbecue. He did not succeed: citizens of Wilmington threw the barbecued ox in the river and poured out the beer.”

This action came well in advance of the Boston Tea Party of 1773, and has led Reed to attempt to establish the holiday.

On March 10-11, 2017, in New Iberia, Louisiana, Reed will keynote the 61st annual meeting of The Louisiana Folklore Society. The presentation will be held at the Sliman Theater in Downtown New Iberia and is free and open to the public.

Friday, March 10, 2017, 7 pm:
Keynote Address
John Shelton Reed, “The Meat of the Matter: The Evolution of Southern Barbecue”
Sliman Theater, 129 E Main St, New Iberia, LA

Saturday, March 11, 2017, 8:30 AM to 3:30 PM
McIlhenny Archives, Avery Island, LA

Registration is $10 ($5 for students) and lunch is $15. Annual membership in the LFS is $25 ($15 for students)

Podcast interview with John Shelton Reed