“This is going to be a great thing for the community,” said Jay Bouton, one of the event organizers. “It’s going to be big. We expect teams from all over the country.”

Appropriately named for its location at the former monastery, the Holy Smoke competition is sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbeque Society and will abide by its rules.

“We will have professional and amateur teams,” Bouton said.

The event is a fundraiser for the Belvedere Blues Foundation, known formally as the Fremont Community Nonprofit Center Foundation, and picks up where the Upper Arkansas Area Council of Governments barbeque competition left off.

“The Blues Foundation has been looking for a second fundraiser to kind of split up the year,” said Bouton, senior vice president of the organization. “We’ve been looking for a spring or summer event to complement the successful Blues Fest every fall.”

Bouton said when the UAACOG dropped its barbeque event last year, the Blues Fest hoped to step in with help from the previous sponsors.

“They’re going to help us,” Bouton said, “and with our event skills from the Blues Festival — we have so many wonderful volunteers – it will make for a great combination.”

Scheduled June 27 and 28, the event will feature 30 to 40 teams competing for cash prizes and bragging rights. A variety of barbeque and beer will be available, and music will keep the event hopping throughout the weekend.

“We’re hoping to get the Continental Kids to headline Friday night,” Bouton said, “and we’ll also have plenty of other high-caliber music, like what we’re used to seeing at the Blues Festival.”

The Colorado Mounted Rangers will provide event security, while Steve Lindner donated the use of the former Abbey football field. Various vendors also will participate throughout the weekend.

“This could be bigger than the Blues Festival within three to five years,” said foundation president Mike Merlino. “The foundation has brought in over $260,000 for nonprofits in the last seven years.”

The special event liquor license for the event was approved unanimously Monday night during the Liquor Licensing Council Meeting.

Admission to the event will be $5 per person, with 12 and under admitted free. The foundation is seeking volunteers to help with the event.

More information soon will be posted online at www.belvederebluesfest.com.