How Meatstock found its home in Toowoomba

More than 20,000 people have bought tickets to Meatstock, and while it has been a great injection of tourism cash for Toowoomba’s economy, those numbers present a challenge for future growth.

Sarah Darmody and Mail Ebb. Meatstock – Music, Barbecue and Camping Festival at Toowoomba Showgrounds. Saturday March 9th, 2024 Picture: Bev Lacey

The third annual Meatstock festival was hailed as a resounding success as sellout crowds flocked to the Toowoomba Showgrounds for the three-day “low-and-slow” carnival.

More than 6000 people walked through the gates on Friday, followed by 11,500 on Saturday and an estimated 5000 on Sunday.

Festival director Jay Beaumont said the decision to hold the Queensland leg in Toowoomba had paid off.

“Toowoomba is like the Texas of Australia,” he said.

“It’s got that vibe to it, it’s a big country atmosphere.

GALLERY: SEE ALL THE MEATSTOCK ACTION HERE

Winner of the Best Dad Body competition, Luke Billin with his daughter Madalin. Meatstock – Music, Barbecue and Camping Festival at Toowoomba Showgrounds. Saturday March 9th, 2024 Picture: Bev Lacey

“We were at the Sydney Showgrounds, the Auckland Showground and the Melbourne Showground, and while we looked at Brisbane we settled in Toowoomba.

“We love it here, the staff were great to work with, and it’s just a great venue for us.”

The three-day event saw hundreds of butchers from across Australia show off their skills in boning and preparing meat, while dozens of venues cooked low-and-slow barbecue and smoked meat for a hungry crowd.

There were strong man displays, a Best Dad Body competition, a rodeo, back-to-back country music and plenty of vendors selling knives, sauces, rubs and clothing.

Tamika Daffurn and Ash Tognolini. Meatstock – Music, Barbecue and Camping Festival at Toowoomba Showgrounds. Saturday March 9th, 2024 Picture: Bev Lacey

Other than a slight hiccup on Saturday morning when the venue lost power for about 30 minutes, everything ran as planned.

Even the local police reported no major incidents from the well-behaved crowd.

Mr Beaumont said the festival had capitalised on the growing popularity of low-and-slow cooking.

“Australians grew up cooking sausages, chops, steaks and rissoles on flat grill barbecues, but the flavour that smoke puts into meat takes it to a whole new level,” he said.

“When people discover that it is very hard to go back.

“There are different types of smokers, fuels and seasonings, there are different methods with wrapped and unwrapped meat.

Paul Calam and Tracey Smith. Meatstock – Music, Barbecue and Camping Festival at Toowoomba Showgrounds. Saturday March 9th, 2024 Picture: Bev Lacey

“There is a lot of stuff there to learn, understand and experiment with.”

While the sellout crowd was a win for organisers, it also presents a challenge for growth.

For the past two years the event has fallen on the same weekend as the Red Hot Summer tours, which also drew thousands of people to the city and sold out all available accommodation.

“At the moment a lot of people say they would love to come to our festival, but they can’t get accommodation,” Mr Beaumont said.

“The challenge for next year will be to identify more camping areas, quite possibly at the speedway or the aerodrome, to increase the size of the festival and run shuttle buses.

“But doing that might ruin the vibe so we are trying to grow slowly and provide good value.”