By Robert Barron, Staff Writer
Enid News and Eagle
ENID —
Everybody loves bacon, and that is a good enough reason to base a whole festival on it.
Baconalia will be noon to 4 p.m. Aug. 28 at 122 W. Cherokee, the parking area adjacent to Q Spot.
Organizer Tammy Wilson said Thursday the idea came to her as she thought of ways to bring people to Enid.
“For a long time an issue has been that we need something that is a draw, that makes people want to come to Enid, she said.
In January, Wilson and her father were hospitalized at the same time and began discussing ideas. They joked everyone loves bacon, and Enid should have a bacon festival. The more they thought about it, the more they liked it.
The festival is Oklahoma’s only bacon festival, Wilson said.
Among the events scheduled is a bacon cookoff. Entrants will compete in five categories: appetizer, main course, side dish, dessert and beverage. The fee to enter the cookoff is $25 for the first entry, $15 for each additional entry and $80 to enter all five categories. Baconalia organizers would like to encourage local restaurants and organizations to get in the competitive spirit and participate in the cookoff to vie for the title of “Baddest Baconator in Town,” Wilson said.
Cash prizes will be awarded contingent upon the number of entrants.
People wishing to judge the cookoff must provide an essay, hopefully witty, as to why they should be granted such a privilege, Wilson said. There will be five judges chosen. Essays will be judged by the bacon festival delegation.
A bacon eating contest also is scheduled, along with a hog calling contest, a hog (motorcycle) show and a pageant to select Miss Piggy Princess, Miss Piggy and Ms. Piggy. Contestants can dress however they believe embodies the spirit of a bacon queen, Wilson said.
Entrants in the bacon eating contest will be determined on a first-come, first-served basis. The competition will consist of eating a set amount of bacon in a set amount of time.
Hog calling is the ability to summon hogs; however, it is more often done just for fun, Wilson said. Hog callers will get 45 seconds to do their call and they will be judged on clarity, creativity and their ability to excite the audience.
Also scheduled is a mud wrestling challenge. Anyone wanting to mud wrestle someone can pay $5 and if the intended opponent does not want to wrestle, he or she may pay $10 to avoid it. All funds will go to charity.
Tickets for the festival must be purchased in advance and will be $20 for anyone over 12. Each ticket will include a commemorative T-shirt, a drink coupon and all the bacon you can eat. Children 5 and under are free and those 6 to 12 are $10, which includes bacon and a T-shirt. Tickets will be on sale until Aug. 8. There will be no entry into the festival without a valid ticket, and there will be no tickets sold at the gate in order to ensure the amount of food prepared is commensurate with the number of tickets sold, Wilson said.
Tickets may be purchased online at www.iloveenid.com or in person at the RSVP welcome center, 602 S. Van Buren, or The Felt Bird, 124 E. Broadway.
