Santa Maria BBQ Festival

09/18/2026

The Santa Maria BBQ & Music Festival is officially underway at Pioneer Park, and doors open today at 4:00 PM! Entry and parking are free all weekend long, but you can still elevate your experience with exclusive ticketed events!

Saturday's Santa Maria BBQ Tasting passes are still up for grabs if you want to sample top pitmasters fresh off the oak fires 🍗 Craft beverage lovers can grab Sunday's Santa Maria Beer Festival tickets for a souvenir glass and unlimited pours of craft beer, cider, seltzer, and wine 🍻 Want the ultimate view? VIP passes get you right in front of the main stage with a private bar, upgraded restrooms, and headliner meet-and-greets 🎸Unlimited carnival ride wristbands are also available to purchase right on site for daily family fun! 🎡Plus, free shuttles are running all day Saturday,11 AM – 10PM with easy pickup spots around Santa Maria and Orcutt to drop you right at the gates.

Don't miss out on live music, carnival rides, and incredible foo, head straight to the link in our bio to lock in your tickets before they sell out! We can’t wait to see you 🔥

Presented by Discover Santa Maria Valley!

09/18/2026

SATURDAY!!

Do NOT miss this!

09/17/2026

Great BBQ deserves an incredible soundtrack! We have an amazing lineup of live music bringing the best vibes to Pioneer Park all weekend long, featuring everything from classic rock and country to reggae, oldies, norteño, and mariachi. We can't wait to see you there!

Check out the amazing full weekend music schedule 👇

Friday, September 18th
DJ Artie da 1 Man Party all night
5:00 - After Eight
6:30 - Michael Arriola Project (MAP)
8:00 - Mestizo

Saturday, September 19th
DJ Vega in the mix all day
1:00 - Brett & Chris Music
2:30 - Rock Odyssey
4:00 - Maclovia
5:30 - 90s Babiez
7:00 - Logan Livermore & the 154
8:30 - Los Hermanos Mendoza

Sunday, September 20th
DJ Vega in the mix all day
12:15 - Mariachi Mexacinisimo
2:30 - Soul Kool
4:00 - Equipo Elite
5:30 - Elevation 805
7:00 - True Zion
8:30 - Pato Banton

09/17/2026

Where the Smoke Meets the Sound!
Ready to get fired up for the Santa Maria BBQ & Music Festival which starts tomorrow? Get an in-depth look at this newly expanded event in this special KEYT preview!

SANTA MARIA, Calif. (KEYT) – Santa Maria's annual BBQ festival will return to the Central Coast this upcoming weekend, celebrating the region's iconic

09/16/2026

Fire up your appetite because our pitmasters are bringing the heat to Pioneer Park for the Santa Maria BBQ Tasting on Saturday, September 19th! 🔥

Your tasting ticket lets you sample cuts from every single BBQ competitor between 12:00 PM and 3:30 PM, perfectly paired with cold brews and live entertainment all day long.

Coming with a group? Grab a Party Pack to buy 3 tickets and get 1 free for $150. Tickets are almost sold out, and prices go up to $60 at the door with no Party Packs available on-site, so head to our website to secure yours now before they’re all gone!

Presented by Santa Maria Valley!

09/15/2026

Bring the whole crew out for a weekend full of games, incredible BBQ, and non-stop family fun at the Santa Maria BBQ Festival!

To make getting here hassle-free, we are offering complimentary shuttle rides all day this Saturday from 11 AM to 10 PM with pickups across town straight to Pioneer Park!

Skip the parking stress and hop on board the free Saturday shuttles! For all shuttle routes and pickup information, head to our website!

09/14/2026

The ultimate weekend countdown starts NOW! 🔥

Santa Maria BBQ Fest begins this Friday and we’re bringing full-throttle family fun all weekend long! 🎡🍻

Picture this: smoky, authentic BBQ tastings paired with ice-cold craft brews, non-stop carnival rides, and over 40 vendors to explore!

We’re turning up the volume with 20+ bands rocking the stage across the 3 days, featuring heavy hitters Los Hermanos Mendoza and Pato Banton!

ALSO! We’ve made pulling up effortless with FREE on-site parking and a FREE Saturday shuttle running 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. across 3 routes.

Grab your discounted ride wristbands before they’re gone! Tag your crew below and drop a comment telling us what you’re hitting first ⬇️

09/05/2026

This year's newly expanded 3-day Festival features 2 ticketed events you don't want to miss!

First is our classic BBQ Tasting on Saturday September 19 where guests get unlimited tastings of some of the best grilled delicacies you'll ever have from 16 local BBQ legends! Tickets are $50/ea presale and the tastings go from noon to 4pm. Grab your squad and get the Party Pack ticket package: buy 3 tickets and get the 4th for free!

Come back on Sunday for the Santa Maria Beer Festival, with unlimited samples of tasty libations from 15 of your favorite breweries, ciders, seltzers, and wineries from noon to 3:30! Tickets are $35/ea presale and come with a free souvenir tasting glass! (Pro tip: ticket holders can also sample anything from the local bars onsite).

Tickets will be available onsite, but they'll be $10 more and we can't guarantee these events won't be sold out as tickets are selling fast. Grab your tickets at the link below to lock in your spot today!

https://heyor.ca/ku3BYS

09/02/2026

Get ready to ride, play, and win for less at the Santa Maria BBQ & Music Festival! Score your discounted carnival wristbands online now before gate prices jump!

Unlimited Ride Pass ➡️ $38 pre-sale
Unlimited Rides + 40 Game Credits ➡️ $58 pre-sale

Pre-sale ends Thursday, September 17th at midnight. Tap the link:
https://gands.magicmoneyllc.com/MagicMoney_Web/ETicket/EventDetails/143

04/17/2026

About yesterday… We are starting our own crew at the Santa Maria Elks Lodge #1538 and were invited to help and learn for the monthly Stag night event hosted at the lodge. We were taught the Elks way of doing things and learned the process to rod Top Sirloin aka Top Block which is what real Santa Maria BBQ is all about. Thanks to everyone that helped show us the way and to the 171 people we fed for all the compliments and encouragement to keep doing this. I love BBQing and this is definitely a bucket list and honor to be able to cook within our lodge. Great job to the crew and all the volunteers that made this happen.