As you drive through the Miss-Lou this Friday and Saturday be sure to roll your car windows down. With even the smallest breeze, it is likely your car will fill with the aroma of barbecue on the grill. The savory smell is coming from the Louisiana State Championship Bowie BBQ Duel at the Jim Bowie Festival at the River View RV Park and Resort in Vidalia.

Some of that smell will surely be coming off the grills of The Girls team. The all-female team — made up of Kari Blaney, Beth DeAngelis, Jane Greer and Betsy Sawyer — is competing in the “Anything Butt” competition on Friday night.

Anything Butt refers to the preparation of anything other than pork. It is divided into three categories — beef, fowl and tropical drinks.

While they will be competing against several other teams in the category, The Girls team has its sights set on defeating one team in particular — The Guys.

Team members for The Guys are Kippy Blaney, Tony DeAnglis and Kyle Greer — the husbands of the team members for The Girls.

With the teams being so closely related, the competitive nature of the group is already heating up.

“There has been lots of trash talking and harassment from both sides,” Jane Greer said. “But it is all in fun.”

The Guys may have a little added pressure since Jane won the beef category in last year’s Anything Butt competition. Her ribeye steak stuffed with sautéed mushrooms and onions and toped with lump crab meat and roasted garlic butter took top honors last year and she’s hoping that experience will put her team on top again this year.

“Experience cooking is probably my biggest advantage,” Jane said. “(My husband) hasn’t been cooking as long as I have, so I’m more familiar with cooking techniques.”

But she knows her husband has a couple of things that could put him on top as well.

“His dry rub seasoning mixture is really good,’’ she said.

Familiarity will also be in play since the group, guys and girls combined, have been cooking together for years.

“We cook at each others’ houses all the time,” Sawyer said. “We know where everything in each others’ kitchens is and come in and take over the kitchen.”

It was at one of these get-togethers that the idea of splitting up and competing against each other was first explored.

“We all started saying ‘I could do that better’ so we decided to see just how the girls could do against the guys,” Jane said.

Because of the close-knit relationship between the two teams, each team knows the bar is set high for their dishes.

“We joke when we get together to cook that we prepare a meal that is better than something you can get in the restaurants around town,” Jane said.

The score will be settled on Saturday night when the winners of the amateur competition are announced.

Jane and Kyle will have to put all kidding aside on Saturday when the two join forces to take part in the amateur rib division of the barbecue competition.

But, according to Jane, that shouldn’t be a problem.

“We’ve been together long enough to be able to get past that,” Jane said.

Alongside the amateur rib barbecuers, professional competitors will fire up the grills with hopes of qualifying for the Memphis Barbecue Network Championship, a sort of world championship for professional barbecuers.

The grand champion of this weekend’s competition will secure a spot in that coveted competition.

Sam Jones, president of the Vidalia Chamber of Commerce said that the professional competition should be stiff.

“Last year, we had seven teams that were ranked in the top 20 nationally and the number is comparable to that this year,” Jones said.

One reason the Jim Bowie festival draws so many high ranking teams is because of the location of the competition. Jones said other competitions are in parking lots or in downtown streets where the conditions are not favorable, but that the shaded and scenic location on the riverfront is perfect.

Regina Hootsell, festival volunteer and trained Memphis Barbecue Network judge, said the availability of water and electricity is also a plus for competitors.

“At other locations they have to pay extra for that and here it is included,” Hootsell said. “That is a big draw for many of these teams.”

Plenty also goes on for those not standing behind a grill to enjoy at the festival too. A full line up of entertainment will performing on stage starting at 9 a.m. on Saturday. Headlining the event is T. Graham Brown who will take the stage at 3:30 p.m. Saturday.

Jones expects a big crowd at the festival because of the quality

entertainment.

“Entertainment is always a big draw for us,” Jones said. “We’ve had lots of calls about our entertainment this year.”

Vendor spots are also filling up quickly with over 60 food and craft vendors already registered.

Admission to the weekend event is $2 for Friday night and $5 for all day Saturday. Children under 6 are free and any child wearing a 2008 DARE T-shirt is free. Gates open at 5 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. on Saturday.

Registration for the amateur divisions is ongoing through Friday at noon.