In this short video, ESPN’s Jay Crawford and Julie Foudy speak about the 3rd Annual Blue Ribbon Bacon Festival on First Take. Please be forewarned, after watching this video you’ll be tempted to eat a bacon and butter-filled pancake burrito drenched in maple syrup!
The Blue Ribbon Bacon Festival is an event put together by bacon lovers for bacon lovers and supported by bacon lovers. This concept is well represented in a kind email we recently received from Wade Brower and Joe Shields of IP Pathways. So, we thought we would share it with our fellow bacon enthusiasts.
Dear Iowa Bacon Board,
Thanks so much for allowing IP Pathways to be involved in the 3rd Annual Blue Ribbon Bacon Festival, 2010: A Bacon Odyssey – One Small Step for Man, One Giant Leap for Bacon. Our employees, customers and friends all had a wonderful time at the event and can’t wait for next year! IP Pathways looks forward to supporting and attending the 4th Annual Blue Ribbon Bacon Festival in 2011. Why, some may ask, would an IT consulting organization sponsor a bacon festival? The answer is simple, we love to have a great time and like to be surrounded by fun people! We also love bacon and are looking for ways to incorporate bacon consumption into our 2010 employee health initiatives!
Thanks again for all the hard work that went into this event and once again you knocked it out of the park!!!!
Wade Brower and Joe Shields, IP Pathways -The REAL Virtualization and Storage ExpertsSM
To learn more about IP Pathways, visit us on the web at www.ippathways.com
On behalf of the Iowa Bacon Board, thank you Wade and Joe for your support and wonderful remarks. We can’t wait until next year!
On behalf of the Iowa Bacon Board, we would like to thank Rick Ludwig for his memorable performance of the National Anthem during the opening ceremony of the 3rd Annual Blue Ribbon Bacon Festival.
Photo courtesy of Philip Leudtke
Please continue checking this blog over the week for links to news coverage, photos and videos of the event.
PHOTOS
Photos courtesy of Maharry Photography. Feel free to order prints via the website.
Metromix Des Moines photos of 3rd Annual Blue Ribbon Bacon Festival
Photos courtesy of Philip Luedtke
TELEVISION & VIDEO
Courtesy of Des Moines Metromix
Courtesy of WHO-TV
Bacon Eve is a day dedicated to preparation and rest for the bacon enthusiast. Listed below you’ll find some helpful hints to ensure you have the best possible bacon experience at this year’s festival:
HOW TO PREPARE?
Drink plenty of water tonight to avoid the swelling factor. When you arrive tomorrow morning please leave all tight fitting jewelry at home, bring your favorite bacon haiku to share with your friends, put on a bacony t-shirt and get excited that you’re in Iowa during the culmination of Bacon Week!
WHERE?
We’ve moved! This year’s Blue Ribbon Bacon Festival will be held at the Scottish Rite Consistory located at 519 Park Street, Des Moines. Street parking will be limited due to the National Pheasant Fest at Wells Fargo Arena. We recommend you park in the ramp located on the corner of 7th and Center streets.
WHEN?
The doors open at 10am and the event goes until 4pm. Your tickets will be waiting for you at will call. The after party celebration will be at the High Life and El Bait Shop. Complimentary transportation back and forth between the Scottish Rite and El Bait Shop will be provided throughout the day by Voss Distributing.
Also, there will be limited usage of credit cards for beverage tickets and merchandise.
The excitement is hard to contain. 150 lbs of Vande Rose Farms Artisan Dry Cured Bacon arrived today. If you’re interested in what makes this bacon so special, here are the details:
Many have asked us what the term Artisan means. The definition of artisan: Handcrafted; somebody who is a skilled craftsman, and that is exactly how our Applewood Smoked Artisan Dry Cured Bacon is made. Each Duroc pork belly is individually hand rubbed, by our skilled artisans, with our specially formulated dry cure rub, ensuring that each slice of bacon produced has even seasoning for maximum flavor.
Our special process and flavor has captured the attention of chefs and consumers across the U.S.
• Featured as “Highly Recommended” and given the title of “Best breakfast bacon” in Cook’s Illustrated Magazine.
• Presented on the Today Show and The Bob & Tom Show.
• Food & Wine Magazine Blogs about Vande Rose Farms bacon as, “One of the best bacons ever”, giving it “3 oinks.”
Savor each bite of our thick, meaty textured Artisan Dry Cured Bacon at the Bacon Festival and enjoy a tale of Beauty and the Bacon Grease. Never heard of it? Come check it out.
We will also have other bacon goodie give-a-ways that you won’t want to miss!
150 lbs of Niman Ranch Bacon arrived today for Saturday’s festival. Ohhhh, BACON!
For all of you bacon lovers out there, here’s Niman Ranch’s story in the words of their local distributor, Cleverly Farms…
Over the past 10 years Niman Ranch Pork Company has grown from a network of less than 30 farmers to more than 600 farmers. Niman Ranch pork can be purchased locally at Gateway Market and in eastern Iowa at the New Pioneer Co-ops in Iowa City and Coralville.
Nationally, groceries from Whole Foods to Byerly-Lunds to Target to Safeway proudly carry Niman Ranch pork, both fresh and cured. Many local Des Moines restaurants feature Niman Ranch pork on their menus.
Their pigs are raised on small family farms with time-tested animal husbandry. No antibiotics, all vegetarian feeds, outside in pastures or in the winter months in hoophouses or old-fashioned barns. Always with access to fresh air and sunlight. Our farmers are held to the highest standards in the pork industry and work with Dr. Temple Grandin to ensure the pigs are treated humanely throughout their lives.
Our bacon is applewood smoked over real wood at Mary Ann’s Specialty Foods in Webster City. Niman Ranch bacon has won a number of taste contests across the country, including The Wall Street Journal, The San Francisco Chronicle, and Cook’s Illustrated. In fact, Cooking Light just named Niman Ranch the “Best Breakfast Bacon” in a blind taste test of over 20 bacons.
One slice of this bacon will remind you of what bacon used to taste like before the industrialized food system took the flavor out of pork and the artisanal craftsmanship out of the curing process.
For those of you without a ticket to this year’s festival, don’t give up. There is still time! 8 tickets are up for grabs through the following contests.
Charlie and the Bacon Factory Contest – Vande Rose Farms
One package of Artisan Bacon, containing a voucher for two tickets, will be on a Dahl’s Foods shelf in Greater Des Moines, while another package will be on a Hy-Vee shelf in Greater Des Moines.
The prize-filled packages will be available on the shelves for purchase starting Monday, February 22nd to kick off “Bacon Week” of the 3rd Annual Blue Ribbon Bacon Festival. Employees of either chain are not eligible to claim the tickets. Vouchers will need to be claimed by 5:00pm on Friday, February 26th. More details will be present on the vouchers.
Pearl Vodka Photo Contest – Pearl Vodka
Win two (2) tickets to the Blue Ribbon Bacon Festival on Saturday, February 27th at the Scottish Rite Consistory. Post a picture of you and a bottle of Pearl Vodka on Facebook and tag it with “Pearl Vodka-Iowa”. Winner will be announced Friday the 26th.
1 Bacon Popper Pizza = Chance to Win 2 Tickets – Fong’s Pizza
During this week if you purchase a Bacon Popper you’ll receive a raffle ticket to win a set of free tickets to Blue Ribbon Bacon Festival 2010—A Bacon Odyssey. OOOHHHHHH BACON!!!
Bacon Week was officially kicked off today at Baby Boomer’s Cafe in Des Moines, IA with tasty bacon specials and the release of “Blue” into the wild. As the official mascot of the Blue Ribbon Bacon Festival, Blue is excited about his new found celebrity status. “I’m just excited to be here and to be a part of the nation’s premiere bacon festival,” said Blue as he was preparing this morning’s meal of fried egg & bacon sandwiches, bacon pancakes, and of course, the world renowned “Obama cookies”. Blue decided to spice up the President’s daughters’ favorite chocolate chip cookies by mixing in some Niman Ranch applewood smoked bacon. “It’s glorious!” bellowed Blue.
Bacon specials will be featured for breakfast, lunch, and dinner all day.
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh, Bacon! The Blue Ribbon Bacon Festival recently spread the word of bacon across the internet airwaves in Iowa. A couple of recent radio shows are listed below for your entertainment:
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