By LINDA CHION KENNEY
The happy pig sitting in flames wearing a cowboy hat, holding a guitar and suds-topped beer is this year’s mascot for the Back Porch Jam at the Hillsborough County Fairgrounds in Dover.
On tap is “BBQ, Bands and Beers” for the two-day jam that kicks off March 14 at 218 Sydney Washer Road, home of the annual Hillsborough County Fair.
As a community celebration featuring youth livestock shows, fair food, midway rides, contests, grandstand talent and arena entertainment, the 11-day 2025 Hillsborough County Fair is set to run Oct. 30 through Nov. 9.
With the ever-expanding and improving facilities at the county fairgrounds, rentals are on the increase, and this month’s featured event is the Back Porch Jam. It kicks off five days after the close of the famed Florida Strawberry Festival in Plant City, which ends its 11-day run March 9.
Featured at the jam is the “backyard BBQ contest,” one of the many BBQ and grilling competitions sanctioned annually in the United States by the Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS), billed as the largest society of barbeque enthusiasts in the world. Its extensive certified barbeque judging program standardizes and ensures integrity in the judging process.
But BBQ is not the only draw to the March 14-15 event, for which admission is $10 per car load, for up to eight people. In addition to a “sizzling lineup of mouthwatering BBQ,” the menu of events includes live music by local bands, craft fair, kid zone, family-friendly activities, cold beer and beverages.
The event runs 5 to 10 p.m. on Friday, March 14, with BBQ masters set to fire up their grills and prepare their contest entries. Gates open at 10 a.m. Saturday, March 15, for a “fierce day of BBQ competition” for both amateur and professional grill masters. Live, continuous music is ongoing, as the jam runs through 5 p.m. March 15.
“For sure, the Hillsborough County Fairgrounds has become a major event venue for all corners of Hillsborough County and beyond,” said Betty Jo Tompkins, a member of the fair executive board and former Riverview Citizen of the Year. “People participating in these events represent schools, businesses, clubs and organizations from as far south as Wimauma and as far north as the Wesley Chapel border.”
On the heels of the Back Porch Jam is the Tampa Bay Rodeo Family Festival, set to run April 11-12, also at the fairgrounds. Billed as “Florida’s Hottest Show on Dirt,” the event features “the best cowboys and cowgirls in the southeast” saddling up for a full rodeo, featuring two days of bull riding, bronco busting, barrel racing, calf roping, team roping and bull dogging.
Before the rodeo heats up, the family festival features live music, family-friendly activities and traditional fair food, including corn dogs, BBQ, tacos, funnel cakes, ice cream, pizza, hot-pressed Cuban sandwiches and more. Ride a monster truck and the mechanical bull, challenge friends at corn hole and giant Jenga, slide down a super slide, throw an axe and visit with elephants, camels, snakes and monkeys.
Another major draw to the fairgrounds is the “Catch the Spirit and Celebrate America 4th of July Festival,” which kicked off last year with an extensive and highly regarded patriotic drone show. Last year’s debut was greatly received, and the event is set to become an annual draw.
The festival kicks off about an hour after the final floats take their pass at the Greater Brandon Fourth of July Parade, which draws a good number of floats and units with Riverview and south Hillsborough County ties. The not-for-profit Greater Brandon Action Network presents the decades-long parade, formerly run by the Community Roundtable, founded as the Presidents Roundtable of Greater Brandon Charities.
Last year’s parade award winners included Slingshots of Tampa Bay and the Waterset Oilers, which won, respectively, the awards for Best Overall and Best Youth Cheerleaders.
For more on this month’s Back Porch Jam and other offerings at the fairgrounds, visit www.hillsborougcountyfair.com/ or call 813-737-FAIR.