Tickets are SOLD OUT! 3rd Annual Blue Ribbon Bacon Festival

February 4th, 2010 (Des Moines, IA) – Tickets for this year’s Blue Ribbon Bacon Festival are on sale NOW exclusively through www.blueribbonbaconfestival.com beginning at high noon on Thursday, February 4th.  Tickets are $35 for entry into the main event on Saturday the 27th and a $100 ticket gets you entry to Saturday as well as the private dinner at Cafe di Scala on the evening of the 24th. We hope you can make it!

The event will be held at the Scottish Rite Consistory at 519 Park Street in downtown Des Moines on Saturday, February 27th.

Schedule of Events*

  • 10:00 am – Doors Open, Blazing Bacon Bloodies are Served, 1st Course is Served, Sign In for Bacon Eating Contest Begins (Sign In Closes at 2:30 pm), DJ Patrick Porto Sets the Mood
  • 10:45 am – Opening Ceremony, National Anthem by Special Guest, Bacon Invocation by the Godfather, Opening Remarks and 1st Official “OHHH, Bacon!” Cheer
  • 11:00 am – Bacon Showcase Opens and Parade of Pre-Cooked Bacon Explosions
  • 11:15 am – Live Music Begins by the Saylor Hill Sliders, Lecture Hall Opens with First Seminar Entitled “A Driving Tour of Iowa Bacon” by Leo Landis, The Bacon Professor (This Lecture Will Be Repeated at 1:15 pm)
  • 11:45 am – Second Seminar entitled, “Why Everything is So Much Better with Bacon” by Jonathan A. Campbell, MS with the Iowa State Meat Laboratory (This Lecture Will Be Repeated at 1:45 pm)
  • 12:00 pm – 2nd Course is Served
  • 12:30 pm – Third Seminar entitled, “Templeton Rye Whiskey – An Iowa Classic” by Scott Bush, President of Templeton Rye
  • 1:00 pm – Parade of Bacon Explosions by the BBQ Addicts, creators of the Bacon Explosion
  • 2:00 pm – Bacon Popper Pizza served by Fong’s Pizza
  • 2:30 pm – Bacon Desserts are Served
  • 3:00 pm – Bacon Showcase Closes
  • 3:15 pm – Bacon Eating Contest Begins
  • 3:45 pm – Bacon Festival Closing Ceremony (Best Bacon T-Shirt Award Winner, Last “OHHH, Bacon” Cheer, Bacon Eating Champion Speaks)
  • 4:00 pm – The After-Party Begins at High Life Lounge and El Bait Shop

* Times are subject to change

Facts:

What – Third Annual Blue Ribbon Bacon Festival!

When – Saturday, February 27th, 10am – 4pm

Where – Scottish Rite Consistory, 519 Park Street, Des Moines, IA

Ticket Availability – Available for purchase through an online link located at www.blueribbonbaconfestival.com at high noon on Thursday, February 4th

Cost – $35 per ticket which includes a commemorative t-shirt, koozie, a menu of 7 bacon items, unlimited bacon samples at the Bacon Showcase, live music, a seat in two bacon educational lectures and your first drink free

Consumption – 583 lbs of bacon was consumed at the 2nd Annual Bacon Festival in 2009, the Iowa Bacon Board has already secured over 1,050 lbs of bacon for this year’s event

Competition – Personal Trainer, Manni Balignasay is the back-to-back Blue Ribbon Bacon Eating Champion in 2008 & 2009

Bacon Showcase – In 2010 the following bacon brands will be showcased:  Eden Farms, Farmland, Hormel, Iowa Farm Families, Niman Ranch and Vande Rose Farms

Iowa Bacon Board – Members include Suzanne Reynolds Arnold, Seth Hall, Mark Pederson, Caressa McCurnin, Logan Porter, Marshall Porter, Tom Porter, Brad Proctor, David Proctor, Brooks Reynolds, John Tiffany and Kevin Tiffany

Honorary Cardiologist – Jeffrey Olson, M.D. – Dr. Olson will be present, handing out business cards and discussing the benefits of a balanced bacon diet

Sponsors – Coors Original Banquet Beer, IP Pathways, Pearl Vodka, Reynolds & Reynolds, Iowa Pork Producers, Smarty Pig, Stivers Ford Lincoln Mercury, Scottish Rite Consistory, Vande Rose Farms, Niman Ranch, Fidelity Bank, Fong’s Pizza, Mr. Baconpants.com and Goin’ Postal