Hogs for the Cause in the Year 2011

"There was once a dream that was Hogs. You could only whisper it. Anything more than a whisper and it would vanish... it was so fragile. And I fear that it will not survive the winter." -- adapted from Marcus Aurelius in Gladiator.

Are you ready to cook? Hogs for the Cause  (@Hogs4theCause) is coming back bigger, stronger, and tougher like Marky Mark after he ditched the Funky Bunch. Set your sun dials, calendars, clocks forward, and Facebook alerts for March 25th and 26, 2011 as Hogs turns City Park into City Pork. We have a new design scheme and website, thanks to the dames at Thinka and Mitchell at Acoustic Web Design. So if you like cool, looking pretty things and websites, connect the dots.

For our third year, we want you to compete for the title of the Ben Sarrat, Jr. High on the Hog Pork Grand Champion. The competition is open to anyone: amateur cook, professional chef, or backyard, beer drinking BBQer. We have the following categories for you to compete in: (1) Ribs, (2) Pork Butt/Shoulder, (3) Whole Hog, and (4) Porkpourri. To be crowned Grand Champion, your squad must compete in three of those four categories. Also, we will have a fundraising champion and best booth competition. More info is available at the Hogs website. Sign up your squad today as the number of teams is limited to 75 and we are well on our way.

And here is the best part, we are adding live music this year. So far The Gourds and The Radiators are booked and will most likely melt your face off, requiring reconstructive plastic surgery on a scale not seen since Face/Off with Nic Cage and John Travolta. Don't worry, physicians will be standing by.

Ok, let's get serious. Hogs was started by Becker Hall and I on a lark. Originally we wanted to just roast a pig and drink beer on the Fly. Then we met Lil Ben and things changed. This charity has grown, and both Becker and I have been overwhelmed by your support. Our goal is to make Hogs for the Cause the premier pork-fueled, pediatric brain cancer charity in the world. While we recognize that research funding is an important part, we want to focus on families and helping them with the resulting financial burdens when their child is diagnosed with a terrible disease. We want to focus on the small things, so the family can worry about the big thing.

And we need your help to do so. If you, or anyone you know, would like to get involved, become a sponsor, or just find out more information, please do not hesitate to contact us. And don't worry there will be a fourth and fifth annual Hogs for the Cause, turns out the Mayan Calendar is off.

Tomorrow back to regularly scheduled programming.