January 25, 2010 (Des Moines, IA) – 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.
BACKGROUND: 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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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
Tickets to the “3rd Annual Blue Ribbon Festival: 2010 A Bacon Odyssey – A Bacon Odyssey, One Small Step for Man, One Giant Leap for Bacon” are officially sold out. 600 tickets were sold in 25 minutes through the Iowa Events Center ticket office today at noon. “We are overwhelmed with the positive response to the ticket sales this year and excited to have a bacon-drenched throw down with 600 of our newest friends,” says the face of bacon, Brooks Reynolds.
