Hi folks! It is time for our annual Tiger Town Pig Festival next to Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland Florida. At this free event, yes free and even parking is free, you will find the best barbeque around – every taste buds will be mesmerized by the variety of finger lickin’ barbeque with all sorts of variety.
In its 14th year, Lakeland Pig Fest is well known for its barbeque competition enticing professional barbeque teams to travel to our beautiful city and compete in four categories: Ribs, Chicken, Pork and Brisket. Of course they are interested in the $10,000 in prize money and the $1000.00 Big Green Egg Prize Package.
Gates open on Friday, January 29, 2010 at 5:00 p.m. with live music on the mainstage performed by Bitter Edge followed by Damon Fowler.
The gates open on Saturday, January 30th at 10:00 a.m. for some barbeque braggin’ rights competition.
On both days there is plenty of entertainment for the whole family to enjoy including: NASCAR Simulators, Interactive Children’s area, Live Music, Tasting Opportunities and some world class barbeque.
A tad bit of history lesson! It started all in 1994 when a small group of local businessmen attended the Blue Ridge Mountain town of Tyron, N.C. to watch a barbeque championship. From then on, a festival committee was established and Lakeland’s Pig Festival welcomed its first barbeque competitors in 1997. Since then, professional teams and backyard teams travel great distances to compete separate in now five different categories in Ribs (loin and spare), Pork (shoulder and butt), Chicken, Brisket (beef) and Sauce. The Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) Professional Competition and Judging School considers Lakeland’s Pig Fest to be one of the finest events sanctioned by KCBS. Lakeland’s annual Pig Fest held at Joker Marchant Stadium has since then grown to over 300 Barbeque Teams competing for prize money and attendance growing quickly each year.
The Junior League of Greater Lakeland became in 2005 the lead organizer for this great event and they do an outstanding job providing volunteers to see that this free event is run smoothly. The event in itself is free, such as the concerts – as you walk towards the gate, let me suggest you buy “Pig Dollars” near the entrance for food and drinks and also some for your kids, since I’m sure they want to take part in arts & crafts, climbing and jumping. Don’t worry if you run out of the “Pig Dollars or “Pig Bucks”, there are various locations throughout the area for you to buy more.