Pig in the Park slated for Saturday
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on April 6, 2016 1:46 PM
When the sauce settles at this year's Pig in the Park on April 9, only one cooking team will finish high on the hog.
This year's Pig in the Park, held in Old Waynesborough Park, begins at 9 a.m. this Saturday, April 9, and will see 24 teams compete for the title of the best barbecue in the house.
But there are also events leading up to the main show to get people ready to cut their teeth on chopped barbecue.
From now until this Friday, you can buy a set of pig lips and pin them on "downtown piggies" to determine which local candidate will earn the title of "Boss Hog" and have to kiss at pig at this year's Pig in the Park event for the Kiss a Pig contest.
On Friday night, prior to the Pig in the Park event, there will be a Barnyard Bar Bounce bar crawl from 8 p.m. until midnight, where people can dress up in barnyard attire and bar hop between all the bars downtown.
Participants will hit five bars in only several hours, and if you imbibe a few too many drinks, don't worry -- Carpool Express will be downtown to give people rides home safely. Carpool Express has base access and is able to take airmen and their families home, also.
The bar crawl begins at Jojo's, then moves to The Laughing Owl before going to Ed's Southern Food and Spirits, then making a stop in Jay's Sushi and Burger Bar before making its final stop at The Flying Shamrock.
A set of lips for the Kiss the Pig contest are only $1 or $5, and can be purchased wherever the cardboard cutouts of candidates are placed downtown. The candidate with the most lips as of Friday night will be decided during the Barnyard Bar Bounce and will have to kiss the pig at this year's event. Candidates are as follows:
* Curtis Stackhouse -- Cutout will be located at B&G Grill until the night of the bar crawl, and will then be moved to The Flying Shamrock.
* Emily Tucker -- The Laughing Owl.
* Carol Bowden -- Cutout will be located at Chef Herb's Bistro until the night of the bar crawl, then will be moved to JoJo's.
* Ben Eskra -- Jay's Burger and Sushi Bar.
* Anthony Russo -- Ed's Southern Food and Spirits.
Last year, Wayne County Chamber of Commerce President Kate Daniels was the lucky candidate that had to kiss the pig. But her sacrifice was not in vain -- the candidates for last year's Kiss a Pig contest raised $2,950.20 for the Boys & Girls Club of Wayne County.
On the day of the event, things heat up at 9 a.m. when the vendor booths open after cooking their hogs all night, and the judging of the cook-off begins at 10:30 a.m. Last year, more than 7,000 people attended the event.
This year, event organizers are expecting the same turnout, if not a bit more.
"We're looking for about the same turnout, but hopefully we'll have more," said Boys & Girls Club Development Director Jo Heidenreich. "It depends on the weather of course, but we always have a beautiful weekend."
At noon, the winners of the "Kiss a Pig" contest will be announced, as well as the winners of the pig cook off.
The public gets to participate by purchasing tickets that will allow them to get a barbecue plate from the event that is served with a helping of barbecue, two sides and a roll. Drinks are sold separately.
From noon until 2 p.m., the Mighty Saints of Soul will perform for the crowd, and will be followed by the Downtown Chameleons from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. At 4 p.m., the fun is over as the vendor booths close and the event comes to an end.
Tickets to the event are available for purchase at http://www.piginthepark.com/tickets/, and are $6 prior to the event and $8 at the event. It is highly recommended to buy tickets prior to the event.
You can also contact Mrs. Heidenreich at 919-735-2358 or [email protected] to purchase tickets in advance.
General information for the event can be found at http://www.piginthepark.com.
All proceeds from the event go toward supporting the Boys & Girls Club of Wayne County.