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 The Logan County Tourism Bureau is coordinating the logistics of
Lincoln’s Pigs & Swigs Festival while there are several other key
players that make this event possible. The event will take place in
Downtown Lincoln from Friday, June 5th through Sunday, June 7th,
2015. The three-day event will be comprised of several key
components from the downtown portion of the former Art & Balloon
Festival.
One of the many reasons for expanding the former Lincoln Art &
Balloon Festival into several events was branding and marketing.
“Being able to target a specific market or demographic for each
event is going to ensure our advertising dollars go further”, said
Cara Barr, Events Coordinator of the Logan County Alliance.
“Branding each event is critically important in the marketing
process”, says Barr. The Chamber went through this process in 2009
with the Lincoln Art & Balloon Festival when the permanent marketing
logo was created for that event. In an attempt to create a brand for
Lincoln’s Pigs & Swigs Festival, Barr contacted former Lincoln
resident, Curtis Simpson, for his help in creating a logo to help
start the branding process. Simpson was happy to help his hometown
with this project.
This logo will be used to market the entire weekend of events.
The wildly popular Up In Smoke On the Square, a Kansas City Barbecue
Society sanctioned BBQ cook-off event, is one component of Lincoln’s
Pigs & Swigs Festival and will be held in downtown Lincoln on
Friday, June 5th and Saturday, June 6th. The barbecue contest will
bring close to 50 competitors from all over the country to our
community to compete for a total purse of $15,000—taking our Central
Illinois Festival to the national level. Barbecue, as well as other
food, will also be available for purchase throughout the entire
three-day event.
A new addition to our community is a craft beer event, organized by
the Young Professionals Network of Logan County. The event will
highlight local breweries, distilleries, and meaderies and will take
place all weekend on the downtown square. The public is invited to
sign up for a home brew competition, beer tasting, and paring
lesson. Featuring local bands throughout the weekend, crowds will be
entertained by live music. The Young Professionals Network is
donating a portion of the proceeds of their event to the Land of
Lincoln CEO, an entrepreneurial program for high school students,
beginning in the fall of 2015.
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The craft fair and flea market, hosted by the Oasis Senior
Center for fifteen years, will be located at Scully Park in
downtown Lincoln. There will be a variety of booths to browse
for handmade crafts and treasures. The hours of the craft fair
and flea market will be on Friday from 3pm to 6pm, Saturday from
10am to 5pm, and Sunday from 10am to 4pm.
The Car Cruise-In, sponsored by Railsplitter Antique Auto Club,
is one of the longest standing components of this event. The
Railsplitter Antique Auto Club was established in 1966 and has
been hosting cruise-ins for fifteen years. Registration will be
on Sunday, June 7th from 11am to 1pm and the car show will be
held from 1pm to 4pm on Sunday. Twenty-five trophies will be
awarded to participants at 4pm as well as $300 in cash prizes.
The public is invited to attend Lincoln’s Pigs & Swigs Festival
on June 5th through June 7th, 2015. More information is
available at www.lincolnillinois.com. If you would like to
volunteer, sponsor, or find out more information about the
Lincoln’s Pigs & Swigs Festival weekend, please contact Cara
Barr at (217) 732-8687 or cara.barr@lincolnillinois.com.
The Logan County Tourism Bureau is a division of the Logan
County Alliance. The Logan County Tourism Bureau is the official
destination marketing organization of Logan County, accelerates
sustainable economic growth and development by increasing
visitor business.
[Andi Hake, Logan County
Alliance/Logan County Tourism Bureau]
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