By NEAL WAGNER / City Editor

Barbecue teams and bands from across the area will fill the air around the Helena Amphitheater with the smell of slow-cooked barbecue and the sounds of soulful blues Oct. 20 during the second-annual Blues and Barbecue event.

The event, which will be hosted by the Greater Shelby Chamber of Commerce, presented by the city of Helena and produced by the Event Operations Group and the Helena Business Association, will be open to the public from 1-8 p.m., and will feature a kids’ zone, face painting, a football tailgating area showing the Auburn and Alabama games provided by Switch Audio Video, arts and crafts and an array of food vendors.

Several soulful blues bands will also take the amphitheater’s stage throughout the event. Little G Weevil will perform from 1-2 p.m., The Elijah Butler Band will take the stage from 2:30-4 p.m., King Bee will perform from 4:30-6 p.m. and 2BLU and the Lucky Stiffs will finish out the event from 6:30-8:30 p.m.

All day, teams from across the region will be jockeying to craft the best barbecue during a friendly cookoff.

Tickets to Blues and Barbecue are $5 in advance and $10 at the gates. Children 5 and younger are free. Tickets cover entrance to the event and entertainment, and food and concessions will be available to purchase on-site.

Tickets are available at the Greater Shelby County Chamber of Commerce at 1301 County Services Drive in Pelham, Vulcan Termite and Pest Control at 115 Commerce Drive in Pelham and at Buck Creek Stained Glass at 4114 Helena Road in Helena. Tickets are also available online at Shelbybluesandbbq.org and Shelbychamber.org.

GSCC Director of Communications Lisa Shapiro said last year’s event, which was held at the Oak Mountain Amphitheatre, drew more than 1,200 visitors and raised nearly $10,000 to benefit chamber programs, including local education projects.