Pack your bags because an actual ‘bacon camp’ exists
School’s almost out and you know what that means? Time for summer camp!
But before you conjure up thoughts of campfires, archery and crafting, consider a new kind of camp experience: Camp Bacon.
This camp may sound like place carnivores only dream about, but it’s a real place where pork-lovers can go to celebrate everything beautiful about bacon.
This year’s Camp Bacon will be held in Ann Arbor, Michigan from May 31 through June 4. So, pack your bags because it’s almost time!
Camp Bacon Is A Delicious Summer Tradition
Camp Bacon got its start in 2010 by the Zingerman’s company in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The Zingerman’s community of businesses consists of 13 food and retail locations that serve up everything from delicious barbecue to candy.
Back in 2010, Zingerman’s co-founder Ari Weinzweig got inspired by a field trip he heard about. He shared that inspiration with the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Regional Chamber of Commerce:
When the Southern Foodways Alliance sponsored a field trip to Louisville a few years ago they called it Camp Bacon. While I didn’t get to Kentucky to take part in the bacon festivities, the name “Camp Bacon” has stuck with me ever since. There’s just something about the idea of Camp Bacon that conjures up great images. Bacon roasting over the bonfire…blue jeans and black hooded sweatshirts with shredded cuffs smelling sweetly of pork belly…maybe classes in bacon cooking and slicing, bacon-sack races, bacon making merit-badges…
Eventually, Weinzweig realized a bacon-focused camp didn’t have to be just a crazy dream. With his connections to the food community in his area, he knew his company could come up with something worthwhile. During Camp Bacon’s first year, every event sold out. And the legend was born.
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What Do You Do At Camp Bacon?
The five-day event is more like a food festival than a traditional camp. But it also incorporates some of the fun, camp-like atmosphere.
What can campers expect?
- A bacon film festival, featuring caramel bacon popcorn and cuban pork zingers
- A baking with bacon class
- A Bacon Ball: the most popular event of the weekend has a pig roast, live music and dancing
- 13 speakers, food demonstrations and much more.
You can take a look a the full lineup of events by visiting the official Camp Bacon website.
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Camp Bacon also serves as a fundraiser for two non-profit organizations: The Southern Foodways Alliance and the 4H Club of Washtenaw County (the local chapter in Ann Arbor). So, Camp Bacon is not just good for the tastebuds, it turns out. It’s also awesome for the community! What’s not to love?
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