Every year the Blue Ribbon Bacon Festival essentially doubles in size. Every year it sells out in less than half an hour. This year’s total was 4,000 tickets in just 25 minutes.
In four years the event has gone from a 200-person gathering of bacon fans at el Bait Shop and High Life Lounge to an event that needs a 165,000-square-foot building to house it.
And clearly demand has still not been met.
“After that first year our goal was to become the premiere bacon festival in the world,” said founder and Bacon Board member Brooks Reynolds. “We knew we couldn’t achieve that goal and keep it small. I think we’re on the right path to making this a pretty large signature food event for Iowa.”
Having reached the Iowa State Fairgrounds, there aren’t a lot of other venues the event can move to and still keep growing at this rate. Brooks likes the February timing, which cuts down on competition, but it also means an outdoor event isn’t a possibility. The Bacon Board is looking at other options to expand, such as possibly making it a two-day event. Reynolds said the group will start examining options not long after a short “bacon break” following Saturday’s event.
This year’s festival has upped its entertainment budget, booking Devon Allman & Honeytribe of the legendary Allman family as the headlining act. Mr. Baber’s Neighbors and The Sequels (fronted by Bruce Day, who wrote and performed “It’s Bacon Me Crazy” for last year’s event) are also performing. Because of the quick sellout, festival organizers scheduled an after party at People’s Court, where Allman will also perform and guests can enjoy bacon drinks and 100 pounds of bacon to snack on.
This year’s event has also attracted some controversy. In the fall the Washington D.C.-based Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine placed a billboard in Des Moines reading “Warning: bacon can cause rectal cancer.” The group placed the billboard here because Iowa is the nation’s largest pork-producing state, and also because Des Moines is home to the festival.
When the Blue Ribbon Bacon Festival announced Iowa Select Farms as the presenting sponsor, 2010-2011 vendor Cleverley Farms dropped out of the event. Owner Larry Cleverley is unhappy that a large confinement operation is involved with the event.
Cleverley said he doesn’t want to rain on the Bacon Fest parade, but he believes that the vertical integration of agriculture by companies like Iowa Select Farms has contributed to the decay of the rural fabric of Iowa.
“My objection is based on that fact that 60 years ago Iowa had 200,000 farmers, and in 2010 there were 60,000,” Cleverley said. “We’re producing the same number of pigs, but we’ve gone from 70 percent of farmers raising them in the ’50s to 12 percent in 2010.
“People like to point to big box stores like Walmart as the reason for the decline of rural populations, but I think small-town businesses no longer exist because there aren’t enough farmers to support them. Consolidation by companies like Iowa Select is one of the biggest culprits.”
In response, Cleverley and other farmers and chefs are planning a separate event, dubbed the Meat Up, for early April at Hotel Fort Des Moines. It will be open to all proteins (bacon, beef, lamb, chicken and others), as long as they’re sustainably grown.
Cleverley said he wouldn’t rule out returning to the festival with a different sponsor, but he also isn’t hopeful.
“They’re going to do what they’re going to do, and I understand that,” Cleverley said. “But this is my response to Iowa Select being the presenting sponsor.”
Reynolds said he understands Cleverley’s grievance, but said that the Blue Ribbon Bacon Festival is about celebrating the meat itself, adding that the event’s vendors range from smaller companies like the Des Moines Bacon Company, medium sized companies like Compart Family Farms from Minnesota, on up to the biggest producers.
“We’re a celebration, a fun event that’s going to raise some money for charity,” Reynolds said. “Everyone is entitled to their own opinion.”
Even if the possible areas for the Blue Ribbon Bacon Festival to expand in Des Moines are limited, the Bacon Board is still spreading the word about bacon outside February. During last year’s Iowa State Fair, Reynolds and crew served up more than 7,000 pieces of bacon on a stick at Jalapeno Pete’s on the Grand Concourse. In June they attracted 3,000 bacon fans over two days to a Blue Ribbon Bacon Festival in Keystone, Colo.
“I think the sky is the limit,” Reynolds said. “We’ve done some long-term planning and always want this to be fun.”
Blue Ribbon Bacon Festival
Blue Ribbon Bacon Festival
When: 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday.
Where: Varied Industries Building, Iowa State Fairgrounds.
Cost: SOLD OUT
Info: blueribbonbaconfestival.com
Bacon Queen Contest
When: 3-10 p.m. Thursday
Where: Johnny’s Hall of Fame, 302 Court Ave.
Cost: Free.
Info: Naming of the 2012 Blue Ribbon Bacon Festival bacon queen, free bacon samples and $3 beer, well and call drinks.
Bacon Fest “Shut Out” Party
With: Devon Allman & Honeytribe and Matt Woods & the Thunderbolts
When: 7 p.m. Saturday
Where: People’s Court, 216 Court Ave.
Cost: $12 in advance, $15 at the door.
Info: peoplesdm.com.
Bacon Resurrection Brunch
When: 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Sunday
Where: Gusto Pizza Co., 1905 Ingersoll Ave.
Cost: $20
Info: All-inclusive, bacon-themed brunch.
The food
The Blue Ribbon Bacon Festival features 10 different bacon providers and 23 food vendors, each providing a unique bacon dish. Here are some items to watch for.
Bacon gelato – Chocolaterie Stam
Bacon taco – Trostel’s Dish/Trostel’s Greenbriar
Elvis Pizza (bacon, peanut butter and banana) – Gusto Pizza
Bacon bread – Keller’s Deli
House-cured black pepper bourbon bacon sliders – Jethro’s BBQ
Bacon explosions – The BBQ Addicts
