LEXINGTON, N.C. (WGHP) – The City of Lexington will celebrate its 40th annual barbecue festival on Saturday. The night before is like any other Friday in Lexington. Overnight, South Main Street will be transformed into a huge festival space and will be packed shoulder to shoulder with thousands and thousands of people ready for some barbecue. “It is like whenever you go somewhere, you tell them you are from Lexington, they always say yes, BBQ,” said Suzanne Nelson, who lives in Lexington. They serve up pounds and pounds and pounds of pork. “Lexington is a great place to be. They need to eat the barbecue, enjoy yourselves and talk to the people. We are good people around here, so it is fun,” said Jody Kivett, a Lexington resident. It’s a tradition for Lexington locals. “40 years, and I think I have been to everyone except one,” Nelson said. It’s also a tradition for people across the nation. “We have done a lot of different festivals and events ... For me, this particular festival is just amazing,” Brandi Glenn said. She travels around the country making sand sculptures, but the Lexington Barbecue Festival is one of her favorites. This year, they wanted to capture the celebration behind 40 years of barbecue in the sculpture. “We did the pigs a little different this year. We did them a little fatter than we normally do ... They are big, fat happy pigs ... 40 years of barbecue,” Glenn said. For 25 years, they have created the masterpiece on South Main Street. Even though they are close to retirement, the Lexington Barbecue Festival is a priority. “There are certain clients that we really don’t mind coming out and putting in the time, and the barbecue festival is one of them,” Glenn said. The pig sculpture draws big crowds. “We come see it every year,” Kivett said. They show up even before the festival starts. “I like to come see the pig sculpture early before everybody else," Nelson said. It takes about one week to complete, and the perfect weather all week helped them get all the fine details just right, including the party hats on the pigs for the big 40th celebration. Everything kicks off on Saturday at 8:30 a.m. and runs all day until 5:30 p.m.