Friday, March 22, 2013

Hog Wild Weekend



There is not much else that I can say about Hogs for the Cause that others have not already said. So instead of retelling the same stories, here are a few links to some great articles about Hogs:


That should be more than enough literary encouragement to get your hog-lovin self out to City Pork tomorrow, but if not here is one last anecdote for motivation.

This past Wednesday night I embarked on an evening trot through City Park, with the specific purpose of checking out how City Pork was coming along.  Unbeknownst to me, the temporary fence was already up, so a full survey of the grounds was unlikely. But as luck would have it, Becker happened to be on the other side of the gate as I passed by, so he beckoned me inside.

"Wow" was my immediate reaction.

The sheer magnitude of the operation is mind-blowing considering the humble beginnings of Hogs only four years ago. In 2009, there were two 10x10 tents out at the fly. Tomorrow, there will be more than 80 tents for the competing teams, some as large as 40x40. In 2009, the music at Hogs was limited to Rene's iPod blaring "Wagon Wheel" on repeat for seven hours. Tomorrow, there will be two stages of live music for alternating sets such that good times keep on rolling strong all day long. In 2009, there was but one hog that Becker and Rene personally kept watch over the previous night at the Fly. Tonight, the Fatback Collective - a group comprised of some of the best chefs in the South - is hosting the Asado Gala Dinner for 300 people.

In 2009, I am pretty sure that this blog post was the only "media" exposure leading up to Hogs.  Word got out to about 50 people that year. Tomorrow, Hogs is hoping that more than 25,000 show up to help the Cause.

"Man, I just really hope that the weather holds up," said Becker on Wednesday night. "We really need to get grants out to these families."

The Cause needs you - rain or shine.

Hogs for the Cause
Saturday March 23rd
City Pork a/k/a the City Park Festival Grounds
Gates open at 11:00 a.m.
Chance of Rain? - NEVER

4 comments:

pmac said...

And, utilizing your ratings guide, this is a guaranteed eagle!

willifred said...

Had a great time....but what was up with no re-entry. If you want to hit the highpoint of the food you need to be there early/mid afternoon. If you want to see the music it was 9-10 pm. You just can't make that work. I ended up paying twice. I spoke to so many people that probably won't go again without re-entry......

Rene said...

Hey Willifred,

Re-entry poses too many security and logistical problems. Stamps wear out, bracelets are transferable, etc... It is being re-examined however, as we do for all things after each Hogs. Thanks for the feedback.

Yepi said...

What a great initiative here. I'll look around the site and see if I can offer any additional ideas. Thanks.