It was a week of roaring motor bikes, fired up grills and fabulous giveaways as the city of Mesquite played host to the inaugural “Smokin’ in Mesquite” Bar-B-Que championships.

The event was a smashing success as over 40 barbeque teams traveled from all over the country to take part in the contest.

A contest that featured $40,000 in prize money.

But before any of the grilling would commence, the city prepared to welcome a parade of motorcycles on Mesquite Blvd.

There was supposed to have been a couple of hundred bikers arriving in the city at around 3 p.m. on Thursday.

Citizens were encouraged to line the streets to welcome these riders, and a few brave souls did indeed show up.

However the parade never happened as bikers apparently took the wrong exit off the freeway and headed straight for the CasaBlanca. [[AD-46-Right]]

These were veterans and folks concerned with veteran issues riding in a motorcycle rally that started in Washington D.C., with a final destination of San Marcos, Ca.

The rally was a fund raiser and awareness event designed to elicit funds for the construction of a Fisher House, a series of private living spaces for injured veterans and their families.

On Friday morning 47 teams fired up their grills and began preparing ribs, chicken, pulled pork, brisket and steaks for entry into the contest.

These were no ordinary grillers.

On hand were some of the most famous barbeque chefs in the land.

There were also three local entries.

Dennis Blanthorn, who would be entering his first bar-b-que competition, entered with his girlfriend and operated under the name Mesquite Heat.

Blanthorn and his grillin’ skills finished 41^st overall out of 47 teams, but for Blanthorn it was more about the experience than the prizes.

Locals Lee Evans, Scott Barry and Joe Scott also entered using the name Team Grinder.

They placed 44^th in the overall competition.

And finally, the local Eureka BBQ Crew, featuring Eureka head chef Scott McGlinchey, finished 35^th overall.

There were other relative newcomers to the competition side of barbeque.

Harry Soo of “Slap Yo Daddy BBQ” is a newbie in the world of competitive BBQ, and he had an impressive showing here in Mesquite.

“We are just so honored to be here among all these great chefs,” Soo said after wrapping up a video interview with a film crew from The Learning Channel.

“We are sitting here with the best of the best,” he added. “These are the Tiger Woods’ of barbeque, and we are just so lucky to be here.”

Soo and his partner placed 13^th overall, a finish that was aided by a fourth place finish in the pork ribs category.

Contestants were required to enter into at least one of the four main competitions, with prizes awarded individually for these categories and then scores were tallied to determine the overall winner.

And that overall champion was world famous barbeque king Myron Nixon of “Jacks Old South.”

Nixon walked away with a first place check of $10,000.

The reserve champion, or second place winner, was a duo from New Mexico called “Sweet Peppers.”

The second place prize was $5,000.

Not bad money for a couple days of grillin’.

Sunday afternoon brought out the local grilling experts.

15 teams from around the area paid as much as $100 to enter the contest.

Again, these grillers were encouraged to enter their barbeque fare in the four categories.

Winners in each of these categories took home $500 cash.

These winners included Marvin Hall in the steak category.

Hall also scored for his chicken recipe.

Wes Reed took first place for his Pork entry while Michael Rowden took a first place prize for his chorizo hamburger.

Rowden has plans to open a barbeque restaurant here in the valley in the near future.

The ultimate prize was saved for last as the CasaBlanca gave away not one but two cruises to the Caribbean as part of a promotion put on by Budweiser.

A drawing was held Sunday night in the casino to award the trip, and casino patrons had been given a chance to win tickets for the drawing all week long leading up to the event.

This was not just a cruise to the palmy islands, but also a chance to see the Dave Mathews Band in concert on a small island in an intimate venue.

The winners of this promotion were Earnest Young and Tracy Campbell.

Campbell won this very same contest last year and will be making the trip for the second time.

Congratulations to all the sponsors of this fun filled weekend.

Here’s hoping they will fill the air with smoky goodness again next year.