Carnies: Traveling Meat Circus

Fundraising campaign by Ken Hess
  • US$7,572.00
    Donated So Far

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What is Carnies: Traveling Meat Circus?

"Carnies" is a 12-episode web series taking you behind the scenes into the world of professional and competitive BBQ.

Where will we go?

We've mapped out a pretty ambitious route, artistically represented in our logo design. We will depart from Decatur, AL and first head North towards Maine via Hershey, PA (we must convince the children that the entire trip will be just like Hershey Park. It won't). From there, we will head South towards North Carolina, beginning the more traditional leg of our BBQ journey. Expect to see stops in the legendary regions-Carolinas, Texas, Kansas City and Tennessee, but some must-see stops in Mississippi, Louisiana, Arizona and Idaho too. "Carnies" will take you into the pits of some of the best bbq spots, new and old, show you one-on-one interviews with our favorite pit masters, bbq critics and restaurateurs, visit the factories of our most loved products and equipment and out to the ranches and farms where the best BBQ really gets its start.

Competition BBQ is like a weekly family reunion of #bbqfamily, and we will introduce you to the circuit and the culture of competitive BBQ, as we compete ourselves in a kosher BBQ competition in KC, the legendary Murphysboro BBQ cook-off in Illinois and Que and Crews in Louisa, Virginia. Expect to see some impromptu BBQ classes and cooking videos too direct from our RV site, hopefully with many of you out visiting with us!


What might a typical episode look like?

A typical, 20-minute episode of "Carnies" will include footage from one to three stops, which might include a class we teach at the Big Green Egg Headquarters, a tour of the Tabasco factory and an on-site BBQ with our friends up in Boise at Snake River Farms. The idea is to immerse the viewer in the culture of Que!

There is no vegetarian option
There is no vegetarian option



We like winning

Budget-We have estimated it will cost $3 per mile for us to film Carnies. The bulk of the expenses will be travel costs, such as fuel and camping fees, as well as production expenses, which includes everything from food to paper towels to a new GoPro. See the breakdown below:

Budget Breakdown
Budget Breakdown

So all of you know that we have some skin in the game too, we each just sold our "extra" kidney in order to buy this bad boy! (Disclaimer: no actual kidneys were harvested in the procurement of this recreational vehicle)

Our Land Yacht,
Our Land Yacht, "Yahtzee"

Below is our list of "Tour Dates". These are the places we will spend more than just an overnight, and will be filming at our site. If you live in the area, we would LOVE for you to come out and join us! As we move about the country, we will keep everyone updated with our location and ETAs for each city via social media.

Organizer

  • Ken Hess
  •  
  • Campaign Owner

Donors

  • Reggie Thomas
  • Donated on Sep 06, 2016
  • Ken - you are truly one of a kind. My passion for BBQ started more than four years ago when you first were kind enough to take time out to walk me through all the work you and the BBG family put into each sandwich at the Big Apple BBQ. I'm so happy our friendship has continued since then (and you being my honey supplier and all, lol), from New York to Decatur to the muddy fields of Atlanta -- and I'm so happy to keep following you, Jessica and the family as you've gone on this journey. Wishing you lots of love and luck up here from NYC!!!!!

$101.00
  • Anonymous
  • Donated on Sep 02, 2016
  • eat meat, sweat, repeat

Amount Hidden
  • Tiffany Taylor
  • Donated on Sep 01, 2016
  • Love and believe in your vision! Kiss those beautiful babies for me!

Amount Hidden
Jul 24

Hotlanta

Update posted by Ken Hess at 05:53 pm

Hey Everyone!It has been a rough week, but we just finished up the Competition BBQ class at the Big Green Egg Culinary Center. With the help of Amanda, her wonderful staff and fantastic volunteers, the class ran smoothly and everyone had a great time. Our students showed such enthusiasm and. . . . .

See update
0

Donors & Comments

44 donors
  • Reggie Thomas
  • Donated on Sep 06, 2016
  • Ken - you are truly one of a kind. My passion for BBQ started more than four years ago when you first were kind enough to take time out to walk me through all the work you and the BBG family put into each sandwich at the Big Apple BBQ. I'm so happy our friendship has continued since then (and you being my honey supplier and all, lol), from New York to Decatur to the muddy fields of Atlanta -- and I'm so happy to keep following you, Jessica and the family as you've gone on this journey. Wishing you lots of love and luck up here from NYC!!!!!

$101.00
  • Anonymous
  • Donated on Sep 02, 2016
  • eat meat, sweat, repeat

Amount Hidden
  • Tiffany Taylor
  • Donated on Sep 01, 2016
  • Love and believe in your vision! Kiss those beautiful babies for me!

Amount Hidden
  • Lance Erie
  • Donated on Aug 07, 2016
$75.00
  • Dan Ryan
  • Donated on Aug 01, 2016
  • Good luck on your carnies travelling meat circus from Dan and Greg down under at The Gryphon Smokehouse 🇦🇺

$30.00
  • Patrick Springer
  • Donated on Aug 01, 2016
  • Live your dream.

$100.00
  • Bill Gillespie
  • Donated on Jul 31, 2016
$100.00
$18.00
  • Suzanne McCool
  • Donated on Jul 31, 2016
  • Meat: it does the body good.

Amount Hidden
  • Art Parsells
  • Donated on Jul 30, 2016
  • Parsells family can't wait to see you

$150.00
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Followers

19 followers
MARNA Club
Scott Schuyler
Dan Ryan
Melissa A Bernstein
Art Parsells
Thomas Vallandingham
Mark Tempel
Steve Blake
Stan Hays
Robyn Lindars
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US$7,572.00
Donated So Far

No more donations are being accepted at this time. Please contact the campaign owner if you would like to discuss further funding opportunities

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