聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 Last Saturday the Community Center in Kipling was once again the setting for a celebration of all things...BACON.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Over 200 people came out to enjoy the 18 different 'Sweet' and 'Savory' dishes containing bacon that were offered up by the 14 vendors in attendance. According to Scott Kearns (the Founder of the Feast) among those in attendance were visitors from as far away as Newfoundland and BC.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 So, what is it that draws people (and draws people back) to the Great Saskatchewan Bacon Festival?
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Well...there's the obvious reason...the food.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淚'm here for the food...and the fun!鈥� says Maureen Csada from Grenfell (who has come back to the Bacon Festival for a 'second helping' this year).
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淚 was in the Paperclip Cottage when they were working on the entries for the Bacon Festival,鈥� says Gloria Ovans. 鈥淚t sounded good and I wanted to know how the entries would taste!鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Some have wanted to attend for a while but only had the chance this year. For example, as Keegan Smyth and his wife Amanda explain:
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲e're down to visit with our family too...we arranged this trip specifically so we could come here.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Others decided to come to the Bacon Festival, simply because the opportunity was there.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Lee Funk and her family (from Swift Current) are camping at Moose Mountain Provincial Park. They decided to take the opportunity to come to the Bacon Festival after Lee's mom Dorothy Weetman heard about the event on a local radio station.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淢om heard about the Bacon Festival on the CKSW Farm Show,鈥� says Lee. 鈥淲e raised pigs for years so bacon has a special place in our family!鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Joanne Meberg from Preeceville enjoyed her previous visit to the Bacon Festival so much that she decided to bring her 'gang' with her on her return visit.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淚 came here last year...and loved it,鈥� says Joanne. 鈥淚 told all of the girls in my group about it. We are a Red Hats group...we call ourselves W.O.W.聽 Which is short for Wiser Older Women. Some of the girls decided to come back with me this year. I think the food is really good. And, not only did I win a door prize last year...I won again this year!鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Vendors have their own reasons for coming to the Great Saskatchewan Bacon Festival. For example, as Susan Waldal (owner of 'Susie's Cinns' located in Emerald Park) says:
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲e came out here two years ago 鈥� we'd heard about this on Facebook. Last year, we weren't able to come because there was a conflict with another event. When I brought my staff out on the 'Women on the Go' Tour this year, some girls at the flower shop mentioned the Bacon Festival to me. When I found out that there was no conflict with anything else and I was free to come, I thought 'Perfect!' So, we're here again. AND...we've brought more food this time! I think that this is a great event! It's exciting to see so much community involvement.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Chris Yeo and Anatalie Poirier are first-time vendors at the event. As Chris explains,
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淚 was thinking of entering for a while. Then, Scott asked me to do it...so here I am! I've been cooking for a number of years. I actually trained under a chef in Brandon. I've been taking a break from cooking to do construction for a few years. But, this has been so much fun...who knows? Maybe I'll be getting back into it!鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Lisa La Rochelle is a Bacon Festival 'veteran':
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淚 don't cook for a living, I just cook for my family. I started doing this just because I thought it would be fun. This is my fourth year here and I did win two years ago. But, I didn't go on to the next competition. It would have been just too much for me to manage. I'm really just here because I enjoy it. And, this is my way of donating to the community and the Youth Center too.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Karla Elliott with PIC points out that her involvement with the Bacon Festival mirrors that of the organization she was there representing.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淧IC is a sponsor of this event every year. We have our business right here in Kipling so PIC likes to do whatever we can to support our community and so do I!鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Along with the tremendous food, this year's Great Saskatchewan Bacon Festival also featured various activities for the kids (including a 'piggy' Petting Zoo) and entertainment by Alex Runions, Erin Hill and Bob Petrie. And of course, there was the chance to enjoy the afternoon visiting with friends, neighbors and fellow bacon lovers.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Ultimately, even though there can be several different reasons for coming out to the Great Saskatchewan Bacon Fest, all of them could be summed up with this comment from Morgan Szakacs (who was here with his sister visiting their grandparents):
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淭his is a really unique event. I love the tastes here! Who'd have thought there would ever be anything like this happening in Kipling!!鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Winners from the event included: Savory Chef - Susie's Cinns from Emerald Park; Savory Home Cook - Lisa Larochelle from Kipling; Sweet Chef - Susie's Cinns and Sweet Home Cook 鈥� PIC.
