Tourism Bureau reviews results of the first summer festival – Pigs &
Swigs
Send a link to a friend
[July 01, 2015]
LINCOLN
- The first annual Lincoln’s Pigs & Swigs Festival took place on
June 5-7 in downtown Lincoln. The festival was comprised of the Up
in Smoke on the Square barbeque competition, the Young Professionals
Network craft beer event, the Oasis Senior center craft fair/flea
market, the Railsplitter Antique Auto Club car show, and the Logan
County Farm Bureau’s Taste of Logan County.
|
With any new event, hurdles are guaranteed to arise. However,
blustery winds and rain showers were not enough to prevent the first
annual Lincoln’s Pigs & Swigs Festival from being a success. The
Young Professionals Network craft beer event hosted over 500 guests
throughout the weekend and even sold out of wristbands on Saturday
evening.
![](../images/070115PICS/night%20craft%20beer3_small.jpg)
Michelle Bauer, a member of city council and the Young Professional
Network, said “As we begin to establish ourselves, the Young
Professionals Network, wanted to provide an experience that was a
little different, entertaining and profitable. The Craft Beer Event
allowed us to support BBQ, raise money for the new Land of Lincoln
CEO program and get people together for a good time. We are very
proud of our first attempt and look forward to an even better event
next June.” This portion of the Lincoln’s Pigs & Swigs Festival
offered activities such as the homebrew competition, live
entertainment, and craft beer tastings.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2015/Jul/01/images/ads/current/ccaonline_sda050208.png)
![](../images/070115PICS/carshow2_small.jpg)
Sunday morning’s thunder storms impacted the auto show, but Leroy
Ranthum, an active member of the Railsplitter Antique Auto Club,
stated that the number of first time participants was much higher
than any of the cruise in’s or car shows that the club has hosted
recently.
According to Dom Dalpoas, the Oasis Senior Center Executive
Director, the craft fair surpassed their goal of having 40 venders
in Scully Park and completed the weekend with 60. Additionally, the
Oasis Senior Center, having chosen to partner with the Lincoln’s
Pigs & Swigs Festival, now reaps the benefits of receiving 100% of
the vendor fees which allows this community driven organization to
obtain a larger profit.
However, their vendors did not have such a great first-year event,
with many of the vendors in the craft fair/flea market seeing lower
than expected sales. Dalpoas said that the Oasis will have to work
out a plan to build up the clientele to support 60 to 80 vendors in
one weekend.
The Up in Smoke on the Square BBQ contest hosted more than 50 teams;
all of whom were competing for the second highest paying purse in
the state.
[to top of second column] |
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2015/Jul/01/images/ads/current/june-revolving-ad.gif) ![](../images/070115PICS/kidsQ_small.jpg)
![](../images/070115PICS/kidsq2_small.jpg)
The first-time Kids Que barbeque competition was also successful
with over ten teams ages ranging between ages 7 and 15. The Oasis
was happy to have the addition of Kids Que in Scully Park during
their craft fair/flea market; Dalpoas felt that event was a nice
addition to what the Oasis was offering.
The organizers of the event met early last week to wrap up the event and discuss
things that can be improved upon.
Potential changes for 2016 include, entertainment stage being relocated to give
more space and better viewing for craft brew event, potentially not having the
event on Sunday since everyone’s numbers were so low on Sunday this year, and
adding the car show on Saturday.
Discussions were had about more BBQ food options for guests of the event and
even finding a way for guests to taste some competitor’s food. According to
Chris Graue, “Forcing the competitors to give out samples or even making them
cook that amount of extra food while trying to win a competition could prohibit
some of them from attending the event in the future.” Graue was confident that
their committee could come up with an agreeable solution for guests and
competitors alike.
One festival attendee stated “We live in Mount Olive. We very much enjoyed the
festival. There were plenty of different beer samples to try. The music was very
good.” She also said that she would more than likely attend the event again in
the future.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2015/Jul/01/images/ads/current/pestcontrol_bch_fleas_061215.png)
Tourism Director, Maggie McMurtrey stated that “For the first year, we were able
to bring a large amount of tourists and locals who appeared to enjoy the
opportunities offered through this event. They also seemed excited for the
upcoming events this summer.”
A feedback survey can be found
HERE or by going to
www.lincolnillinois.com under Lincoln’s Pigs & Swigs Festival page.
[Maggie McMurtrey, Logan County
tourism Bureau] |