“Bacon is pretty popular as a food right now; a lot of bigger cities have bacon fests,” event director Jazmyn Strickland said. “It is just a fun idea and there wasn’t one in our area so I thought, ‘Why not be the first one to bring it here?’”
Kelly Trom
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Everyone’s favorite breakfast meat is sizzling up at Alex Madonna Expo Center this Saturday, Nov. 23 from noon to 3 p.m. at the inaugural SLO Bacon Fest.
“Bacon is pretty popular as a food right now; a lot of bigger cities have bacon fests,” event director Jazmyn Strickland said. “It is just a fun idea and there wasn’t one in our area so I thought, ‘Why not be the first one to bring it here?’”
SLO Bacon Fest will feature samples of bacon and bacon-themed appetizers provided by local restaurants, breweries and wineries. Some of the food vendors include Firestone Grill, Chino’s Rock & Tacos, Woodstock’s Pizza, SLODOCO, Pluto’s Restaurant and Urbane Cafe. Breweries and wineries involved include Ancient Peaks Winery, Bakon Vodka, Robert Hall Winery and more.
“An example of a bacon-related treat is Lickity Split cupcakes bringing their maple bacon cupcakes to the festival,” volunteer coordinator and communication studies senior Ashley Ballinger said.
Not only is the festival celebrating the love of bacon, but it is also raising money to start an after-school food program for SLO County children through Ward House Charities.
In addition to the food tasting portion of the event, there will also be a bacon eating contest. The contest will cost $15 to enter, and the winner will be the first person to eat three pounds of bacon, produced by Cal Poly Meats. The winner will receive tickets to next year’s Bacon Fest, a year’s supply of bacon and a spot on the Bacon Fest float in the San Luis Obispo Holiday Parade.
Cal Poly Meats will also be hosting a booth at the festival where participants can sample regular bacon as well as Canadian bacon, which is processed by Cal Poly students and can be bought at Campus Market and Village Market.
“One of the things (Cal Poly Meats) has been able to do is to produce superb bacon at pretty competitive prices compared to the market price,” graduate student Steven McLennan said.
To add to all the bacon fun, there will be a light-hearted “Bacon Queen” pageant which will consist of four categories: bacon knowledge, bacon outfit design, bacon dedication and a talent relating to bacon.
“The contestants might sing a song about bacon or write a poem about bacon,” Strickland said. “We really just want to see their enthusiasm for bacon.”
All contestants will receive a tank top and a ticket to SLO Bacon Fest. The winner will receive a sash, crown, boquet of bacon roses, tickets to next year’s festival and a spot on the holiday float alongside the bacon eating contest winner.
Tickets are available online for $35 each, which includes an unlimited amount of bacon and beverage samples plus an additional Piggy Bag filled with goodies. There is also an under-21 option that only includes food and is cheaper at $30 per ticket.
Strickland and Ballinger hope that the event will be an annual festival for San Luis Obispo.
“A lot of the tasting events in the area have a reputation, and that is something we would like to build,” Ballinger said.