Kelseyville >> Bacon has many incarnations, each one as delicious as the next. If there’s a wrong way to serve the crispy fried meat, it’s doubtful anyone has discovered it. And while store-bought bacon certainly has its merits, nothing beats the homemade stuff.
“The quality of the bacon when you make it yourself is incredible,” said Rick White of the Kelseyville Business Association (KBA).
This inspired Kelseyville’s Beer, Wine and Swine Baconfest. The event, put on by the KBA, is exactly what it sounds like: a day full of bacon and wine — plus a pig calling contest. Local chefs from around the lake will be serving up their creations, both to the public and celebrity guest judges, including Congressman Mike Thompson.
Bacon festivals are fairly common around the country, but as far as the KBA knew, there weren’t any events in this region. With a flourishing wine scene, they decided that combining the two would make for the perfect day.
The KBA originally wanted to host a chili cook-off style of festival, with amateur and professionals alike competing in different categories, but because the event is so new, not enough people showed interest. So the association reached out to restaurants instead.
Serving up bacon will be Bing Woods of Bing’s Kitchen, Jeremy Zabel of Park Place, Jerry Phillips of O’Meara Brothers Brewing Company, Julie Hoskins of Chic le Chef, Matt Young of Saw Shop Gallery Bistro, Rosey Martin of Rosey Cooks, and the culinary team from Woodland Community College.
The KBA hopes to make the Baconfest a staple in Kelseyville for years to come, and that this Sunday’s event will inspire some amateur chefs to toss their hat into the ring in the future. But the business association has to get through this year first. Their biggest challenge is going to be the scorching heat, which is supposed to reach into the 100s.
But the event will have fans and water bottles to battle the temperature, plus a cool room for people to rest if they get overheated.
It’s a bit ironic, since the KBA intended to hold the Baconfest last year but canceled when they discovered they were going to be rained out. When looking for a date for this summer, they struggled to find a time when they wouldn’t be competing with other events. They settled on Father’s Day. And though the Baconfest is more adult-oriented, it’s not a bad way for the family to spend an afternoon with dad.
The business association is expecting a turnout of a couple hundred people. They’ve sold 100 tickets already, and given another 100 to sponsors. There are still plenty of tickets left, but they will cap the festival at about 300 people. Any more than that, and they risk running out of food.
Every year Kelseyville puts on a number of different events, which are always well attended. The town owes quite a bit of its popularity to the business association. They’ve been around for 50 years, they’re well connected and perhaps most importantly, they’re supportive. They’re constantly in search of more sponsors to help put on events, and at the end of August they’ll be hosting a 50th anniversary celebration at Chacewater Winery.
The KBA is committed to making Kelseyville a place known for its fun atmosphere. “We want Kelseyville to be that little town in Lake County that people like coming to,” White said.
The Beer, Wine and Swine Baconfest takes place Sunday from 12-5 p.m. on Main St. in Kelseyville. Purchase tickets ahead of time at eventbrite.com or Kelseyville Lumber, or purchase them the day of at the event.
Jennifer Gruenke can be reached at 900-2019.
