JACKSONVILLE – The Flamin’ J BBQ Fest returned for its fifth year of BBQ competition, drinks and live music to benefit the Jacksonville police community on Saturday.

The festival, presented by EAG Ford Jacksonville and hosted by the nonprofit Jacksonville Citizens Police Academy Alumni (CPAA) and the Jacksonville Police Association, connected police, families and citizens at Hazel Tilton Park from 4 to 9:30 p.m. with entertainment headliners Travis Bolt, Brian Chance and Jaden Ramirez.

“Our mission is to support the Jacksonville Police Department and bridge the community relations, the citizens of Jacksonville and the offices of the department,” said Dillon Rodriguez, organizer of Flamin’ J BBQ Fest and president of the Jacksonville CPAA.

Previously held at a different location in downtown Jacksonville last year, Rodriguez said the new location shows the growth of the event he started from an idea inspired by a Tyler event he attended with a friend six years ago.

“Since year one, we’ve gained a lot of traction and each year the names, as far as the headliners, have gotten bigger and this year is our biggest entertainment lineup that we’ve had so far,” Rodriguez said. “We’re seeing people getting fired up about it.”

While listening to live music, guests walked up and down a row of barbecue teams and food trucks, handing out their signature brisket dishes that were judged in a contest.

“Each competitor provides us with their three slices of brisket and our judges rank them based on appearance, taste and then tenderness,” Rodriguez said. “From there, we tally up their scoring and determine who comes in first, second and third, but we also have a people’s choice.”

Rodriguez said the people’s choice award allows pit masters to get creative with their brisket.

“However creative you can get will definitely give you more brownie points when it comes to the people’s choice,” Rodriguez said. “We’ve seen brisket mac and cheese, brisket elote and a brisket grilled cheese before.”

Dustin Burgess, sales manager at EAG Ford Jacksonville and pitmaster for team Meat Sweats Barbecue, said he and his team arrived at the park at 3 a.m. to start cooking their brisket.

“We mixed all our seasonings together and we have tried it for six or seven years and so we mix what we like and we add spice or kick it back,” Burgess said.

Burgess said his team has competed at other barbecue competitions before, like the SeaWorld San Antonio cookoff, but they enjoy giving back to their community.

“A bunch of the guys that work with me at EAG, they raised their family here and so they’ve known the police and police chief forever and we also supply all the Police Department vehicles so we work hand and hand with those guys,” Burgess said.

Rodriguez said his favorite moments of the festival are when all the teams come together in the early morning to start preparing their food.

“Don’t get me wrong, I love Flamin’ J and everything about it, but there’s something about the camaraderie of the barbecue competitors the night before, when it’s 2 o’clock in the morning and everybody’s hanging out in the middle of the street making sure the pits are staying up to 10 and the briskets are cooking,” Rodriguez said. “There’s something about that where it makes you not want to go home.”

Duane Weatherford, a fifth-time attendee, said he comes every year to enjoy the family fun and support the local police department.

“I know a lot of folks in the police department and I worked for Republic Services, which was a sponsor today,” Weatherford said. “I’m here to support them as much as we can.”

Attendees bought either a $15 ticket for just the concerts or a $30 to also include the barbecue tasting and all the proceeds went back to Jacksonville CPAA to award to the Jacksonville Police Association to help support police equipment and programs and three $1,000 scholarships to Jacksonville individuals graduating and pursuing a first responder career.

The Jacksonville CPAA is made up of individuals who went through the free 12-week program held by the Police Department to educate residents on police operations to strengthen community-police relationships.

“We have donated close to $30,000 for previous years and then because of events like Flamin’ J and other fundraisers we do as an alumni association we were able to donate $42,000 to the City of Jacksonville Police Department for their Firearms Transition Program, which ultimately covered the entire cost of the firearms and all the training that went along with it,” Rodriguez said.

James Hubbard, Jacksonville city manager, said he enjoys attending events where the city can appreciate and help support what the police department does every day for citizens.

“I think so often we hear the bad stuff on social media and even in the newspaper occasionally, but to focus on the good, positive things that they’re doing and give them funding over and above what the city’s able to do is great,” Hubbard said. “It’s kind of like teachers, where it’s a tough profession and they’re not paid as well as they should be and oftentimes they don’t have the tools and the equipment that we would want them to have.”

Hubbard said events like these allow the community to help in a fun and engaging family-friendly way.

Many families brought lawn chairs and picnic blankets to set up on the lawn to listen to country and blues music as they ate their choice of barbecue.

Rodriguez said he hopes to continue to see the festival grow each year.

“Our biggest focus right now is trying to figure out how to get more barbecue competitors and I would say our next goal in the next two to three years would be to run out of space for competitors where we’re currently located and maybe even look at having to move the event to a different location again,” Rodriguez said. “Ultimatley, it’s always a fun time and great food.”

For more information on the Jacksonville CPAA visit, https://www.instagram.com/jvillecpaaa/.