After much anticipation, tickets to this year’s Blue Ribbon Bacon Festival will be sold exclusively through an online link located at www.blueribbonbaconfestival.com beginning at high noon on Thursday, February 4th. The event will be held at the Scottish Rite Consistory at 519 Park Street in downtown Des Moines on Saturday, February 27th.
“This year we’re preparing to accommodate our largest crowd ever, and I am finally beginning to feel comfortable with our bacon inventory,” Brooks Reynolds, Bacon Board spokesman says with relief. “So far, we’ve secured 1,050 lbs of bacon from our purveyors. With 600 participants expected, we’re guaranteed to have an average of 1 ½ lbs per person.” Last year 583 lbs of bacon was consumed by a crowd of 346 individuals.
Jeffrey Olson, M.D., the festival’s 2010 Honorary Cardiologist added, “I’m extremely excited for this year’s bacon festival. And, I plan on passing out business cards!”
The theme for this year’s festival is: “A Bacon Odyssey, One Small Step for Man, One Giant Leap for Bacon.” Ticket cost for the event is $35 per person – ticket sales will be limited to 8 tickets per order. The ticket entitles the holder to 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 a free bacon bloody mary.
Schedule of Events
Event Information
- 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, Stiver’s Ford Lincoln Mercury, Scottish Rite Consistory, Vande Rose Farms, Niman Ranch, Fidelity Bank, Fong’s Pizza and Goin’ Postal
What started as one man’s passion for “all things bacon” has evolved into America’s premier bacon festival. In 2007, Brooks Reynolds of Des Moines gathered fellow bacon lovers and formed the Iowa Bacon Board with the mission of improving the enjoyment of all things bacon. Informal meetings of the group had been held for years with weekend retreats at Spirit Lake where each bacon fanatic would bring at least two pounds of bacon for consumption over a two-day period. On March 1st, 2008, after several meetings between the Iowa Bacon Board, Full Court Press and In Any Event the festival was born: a day dedicated to nothing but Bacon.
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