Hogs for the Cause

Hogs for the Cause, the number one porcine related charity event held at the Fly, returns this Saturday, March 6th from sun up to sun down. With over 25 teams competing for your dollars in the Louisiana High on the Hog Pork Cook Off, the competition will be fiercer than you can shake three sticks at. Judging will take place from 2 to 4 p.m. but feel free to come out whenever you want as we will have beer, oysters, pork, music, and silent auction items ready for your perusal.

As you may already know, last year's recipient and the inspiration behind this Cause, Ben Sarrat, Jr., lost his battle with cancer last Thursday. There are no words to express how close Becker and I had grown to Ben and his family. His outlook on life - always positive, smiling, and most of all full of jokes - motivates us to make this year's Hogs for the Cause bigger and better.

To this aim, Hogs has established a cancer research fund, whereby all monies raised will be directed to childhood cancer research. Specifically, we want to help fund the cure for Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Gilioma (DIPG). And what is DIPG? The worst disease imaginable. Most cases are present in small children, and the survival rate is nearly zero. What we do know is that funding for DIPG research is at an all time low, and that is where you come in.

We have been blown away by the support and generosity from our patrons in New Orleans. Donations, raffle items, free equipment and supplies have poured in from across the metropolitan area. Many of us in New Orleans have spent the last half-decade helping each other out. Be it a spare generator or a few extra MREs, we take good care of those in need. We have learned compassion, and that is a wonderful thing.

Now we need you to come out and show your support on what will be a beautiful spring day. We want you to accidentally get sunburned, drink some NOLA Brown, bet on some raffle items, take a plunge on a weekend getaway to Point Clear, and just enjoy the day. There is no charge for admission because we want you to give whatever you feel comfortable with giving. The cook off teams, however, will be vying for your support as monies you donate to each team will help go to towards their point total.

We look forward to seeing you out there.

Together we can do something great.