Tag: Pork in the Park

Pork in the Park: the other side

If you hadn’t noticed, I’m taking a couple days off from politics here. Part of this is the simple fact I’m up at the GOP Spring Convention and the computer will stay home. I had issues the last time I took my laptop away so better to be safe than sorry – I will have my camera and notebook, so don’t assume I won’t be busy.

Yesterday I moderated a comment on my Pork in the Park coverage from last weekend, which started a brief exchange. It wasn’t the glowing commentary I usually hear about the event, but I’m sad to say the guy had a point. I happened to find an extended version of the comments on a foodie blog this gentleman, Ralph Rossi, runs.

His contention was that the festival is beginning to become a victim of its own success because the food vendors are so spread out. Some in the food court placed in its traditional location did relatively well, while the others relegated to the stone parking lot struggled to make their rent. Now I can understand where it would be a problem to have rib vendors stacked up on top of each other considering the traffic they can create with the popularity of their items, but I hate to hear anyone having a bad experience at such an event. Even if there’s rain in the forecast, no one should feel the need to cut their losses and leave the day before the scheduled end.

According to the official Pork in the Park website, this year there were over 35 food vendors with just about half featuring barbecue or pit beef. Add to that space for other non-food vendors, the competitors, the stage and picnic area, and the other features and it’s enough to almost make you wonder if they’re ready to outgrow WinterPlace Park.

On a personal level, when I first heard of Pork in the Park I compared it to an event I was more familiar with in my hometown. Originally held along the riverfront in downtown Toledo, the Northwest Ohio Rib-Off was an event more geared for retail sale than competition – over 20 vendors would be serving and it was a challenge to try them all during the three-day event. So only having a handful of rib sellers threw me for a loop the first time I came to Pork in the Park in 2005.

Now I’m not sure what prompted the Toledo event to relocate to suburban Maumee, but it’s now held at the county fairgrounds and that location has advantages: the former ballpark for the Toledo Mud Hens is still there, providing a grandstand for concerts and events – Ted Nugent was the featured performer there last year. There’s also plenty of parking, an adequate amount of open space, and the location is suited for traffic to come and go since it was once a baseball stadium.

Returning to our festival, it looks like Pork in the Park has moved up in stature to have nearly 20 rib sellers (plus a whole lot of other food offerings) so perhaps it’s time to upgrade the facilities as well. Unfortunately the county doesn’t have a space available to it such as Toledo does, but there are some possibilities which intrigue me.

One possibility would be to do a short-term lease (for a week or so) of the vacant parcels of land adjacent to Perdue Stadium. Obviously there’s plenty of parking there if the Shorebirds are away, not to mention the grandstand for entertainment, and if the Shorebirds happen to be home there’s always the possibility to reverse the idea the county has had the last couple years of using the Perdue Stadium parking lot for a shuttle stop for Pork in the Park by using WinterPlace Park as parking. They would also need to close the portion of the northbound U.S. 13 off-ramp which leads to Hobbs Road, but that would be a manageable closing for a weekend.

Another thought would be to use a combination of county-owned facilities which are adjacent to each other: the Civic Center, the parking lot across Glen Avenue, and Wicomico County Stadium. Since we already close Glen Avenue for certain Civic Center events the traffic interruption wouldn’t be unusual. Additional space could come from the land formerly occupied by the demolished Salisbury Mall. The beer garden would have to be across the road from the Civic Center but aside from that there’s the advantage of having indoor facilities in case of rain.

If they’re not planning on moving – and obviously there’s the familiarity of the locale since all nine Pork in the Park renditions have been held at WinterPlace – I think they need to devote more thought to perhaps using the side of the facility where the Equestrian Center sits for the competition side and opening up the side of the park where competitors are now placed to become a long, linear food court.

Whatever the best solution is, the time to think about it is now. With the 10th anniversary coming up next year, the crowds may be bigger than ever. I don’t like people to leave our little corner of the world unhappy (well, unless they are playing the Shorebirds) and reading Ralph Rossi’s complaints made me feel like perhaps changes are necessary to assure the event continues to prosper and help our area tourism economy.

Pork in the Park 2012 in pictures and text

Today is Earth Day, and what better way to celebrate than to fire up the barbecue grill and cook some meat?

Well, the weather may not cooperate today but yesterday was a nice day to be at Pork in the Park.

It was the ninth rendition of the annual event, which is claimed to be the largest barbecue festival east of the Mississippi River, and there were fairly decent crowds brought out by the summerlike weather.

We arrived around noontime or so, and the last photo was taken at the time we left, around 5 p.m. I think they’ve had larger crowds, but then again Pork in the Park was more spread out this year.

One of my favorite parts of the festival is walking back among the competitors to see what I can see. Sometimes it’s the whimsical signs, like these examples below.

Nor was it just the signs. You thought the neighbor who left the Christmas lights up all year was bad?

Well, it is Christmas City BBQ so I suppose I should give them a pass. But the salute to Tabasco made me scratch my head.

Yet it always amazes me what a big business this is, with specialized trailers and everything for the more serious teams.

There were a couple new wrinkles in the competition field, though. One was the involvement of Smithfield, a national pork processing company.

The other was the taping of ‘BBQ Pitmasters’, a cooking competition show which will air later this summer. A film crew was taping three teams in their own contest.

Still, there were dozens of teams trying to grab the brass ring, or at least a check and trophy. Here’s one putting the finishing touches on their entries.

It wasn’t all barbecue, though. There were other vendors who sold all kinds of wares.

Not sure what you can buy off these guys. But it broke my heart to leave the political field solely to them.

I noticed they had no Obama items there, nor any Ben Cardin. And they only had a few trifold fliers for Wendy Rosen which were geared for the primary. I asked if she would be here and the nice lady didn’t think so.

Five bucks would get you a ride on this beast. But if you wanted a higher perspective, it was $60 a couple for a helicopter ride.

Don’t tell anyone, but I’m glad to see this fairly new exhibitor. Not sure what they would recommend with pork but I would go with the Primal Pale Ale. It’s the other light beer.

Admission and shameless plug: I actually prefer North Carolina style BBQ over traditional sauce. These guys did it up right, with a nice and tangy sauce and flavorful pork that was tender. Hope they come back next year.

Since you probably can’t read the finer print based on the 480 pixel photo width, it’s The Little Red Pig BBQ out of Marshville, North Carolina. I saw that and immediately knew where dinner would come from. That’s not to disparage any of the other rib vendors, but I think I’ve tried most of the other ones.

I think the owner of this beauty was stopping by before he went to the monthly car show just down the road.

And I just wanted to add this final picture as a further tweak to Gaia lovers.

The inscription on the hood says: ‘Silly Jeepers, Leafs are for Trees.’ I took it as a swipe at Nissan’s electric car, and having a photo of someone who enjoys tearing around the wilderness in a carbon-belching vehicle just fit.

And while Gaia may have had the last laugh with the weather (I seem to recall it also rained the last time Pork in the Park was held on Earth Day) just the fact that thousands showed up to enjoy meat cooked over charcoal – a concoction which, when done correctly, belches out a smoky aroma which tofu just can’t match – made my weekend and put all the enviroweenies in their place. Low-impact tourism it ain’t, and I was glad to participate.

I also managed to get enough photos of people using thousands of watts of amplification – no acoustic crap here – that I can do a decent enough Weekend of Local Rock post. Look for it next weekend.

Odd and ends number 45

Thanks to Dan Bongino, who I spoke to the other night at our Lincoln Day Dinner. As he reminded me, I am now on number 45 in this occasional series of short items I grace with a paragraph or three.

So how about I start with an item involving him?

You probably don’t know the name Mia Love, but perhaps you should. The Utah Congressional candidate endorsed Dan with this statement:

“I first learned about Dan when he was being covered for a segment on Fox News.  I was amazed by his story and the passion he has for the state of Maryland,” said Mia Love.  “If we are going to change the way Washington operates, we need to start by electing folks like Dan Bongino.”

So I’m sure you’re thinking, well, that’s nice. But take a look at her website and read this piece of her life she shares therein:

On the day of Mia’s college orientation, her father said something to her that would become the ethos for her life:

“Mia, your mother and I never took a handout. You will not be a burden to society. You will give back.”

Consider that she’s born of Haitian parents and is a minority conservative Republican with a sound track record in her home state, and the strategy of this endorsement makes much more sense.

But there’s other endorsement news out there as well. This particular one shakes up the Sixth District race a bit, as former Senatorial hopeful Jim Rutledge eschewed endorsing one of the better-known candidates in the race and instead backs the underdog Robert Coblentz, calling him “a concrete conservative who understands the core principles and values that make America great.”

Perhaps that’s not a complete surprise, though, as Coblentz was the coordinator of Jim’s campaign in Washington County in 2010. Still, it gives him a little bit of gravitas in his uphill battle against more well-known candidates, and politicians have to start somewhere.

Returning to the Senate race, candidate Rich Douglas has been scoring media points with a couple appearances over in western Maryland. He called out Ben Cardin for not taking a stance on the gas tax during Alex Mooney’s WFMD-AM radio show Sunday evening, saying “I haven’t heard a peep from Ben Cardin (on the gas tax). There’s one simple way he can make his position known – go to a microphone and say what it is.” It also gave Mooney a free shot at Rob “Gas Tax” Garagiola, who’s changed his stance on the issue since he decided to run for Congress in the Sixth District. “These politicians all look out for each other,” added Douglas.

Rich was also featured in a Cumberland Times-News story by Matthew Bieniek on Friday where he echoed some of his job creation arguments presented Saturday at our Lincoln Day Dinner:

Job growth is Douglas’ priority and he doesn’t think the current administration in Washington, and U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin, are doing enough to bring new jobs to Maryland and the nation.

“The unfavorable business climate is a major factor. … Congress has a duty to remove obstacles to success,” Douglas said. A senator should be out there promoting Maryland as a business destination, he said.

A strategic, comprehensive vision for the nation’s economic future is needed, he said. The current “salami slice approach” isn’t working, Douglas said.

Obviously Douglas is covering the state quite well, and the strategy of using local media may pay off come April.

Continue reading “Odd and ends number 45”

Pork in the Park Saturday in pictures and text

My significant other and I wanted to get our ribs on at Pork in the Park, and yesterday we did just that. Here’s part of how the experience went.

Luckily, there was a good rib place just inside the entrance. The only one closer would have been Famous Dave’s and, to be quite honest, we can get their ribs any old time. So we stopped by Jacked Up BBQ.

Here’s a shot of them slicing up our lunch – we shared a full rack with sides (great cole slaw, by the way) and a little bit of ‘pig candy.’

Now, bear in mind it was about lunchtime, so one would expect a pretty decent crowd. Yet look at the draw these tents were getting just down from Jacked Up.

Other rib sellers were getting the same response. This was around the corner at Chop Shop BBQ.

Now I don’t know if this was a traffic consideration or an effort to spread out vendors more, but a couple rib places were out in what’s normally the WinterPlace Park parking lot. I thought it was an exit at first.

You can see the umbrellas in the second shot. They were useful as long as the howling wind didn’t turn them inside out.

It’s a shame more people weren’t around because I wanted to see them fire this bad boy up.

Johnsonville claims it’s the world’s largest grill, and that it can handle 750 brats. That may have been two for everyone there at the time.

Still, the competition was going on despite the weather. We wandered back to the competitors’ area just as the judging deadline for ribs was approaching, and this crew wanted to make its presence known.

While the ribs were being turned in, there was still brisket to be wrapped up.

And as always, there was an odd sense of humor present among those who come to Salisbury to compete in what they claim is the largest KCBS contest east of the Mississippi.

The little bronze pig on the ground was a nice touch, as was the tiki bar below.

My significant other liked this one best.

Despite the paucity of people, the show did go on. One new feature this time around was the mechanical bull.

One could ride it for $5, although people weren’t exactly flocking to it. I saw one game contestant get tossed off as I was walking up but no one in line after him.

I didn’t stay long enough to make a ‘Weekend of Local Rock’ post, although we did hear a little from Joe Bachman and the Crew as we walked by.

I spoke to Michael Taylor, who was doing sound, and was told that rain wouldn’t stop the entertainment but lightning would. As Julie Brewington showed on Right Coast Conservative, Smokin’ Gunnz did get their set in but the storm which rolled in about 6:00 ended the proceedings before they could get to 7 Days Wasted or their headlining act, Bruce in the USA.

There’s little doubt that the event will fall short of the 30,000 it drew last year since Saturday is usually its biggest day. But there was decent enough weather today and Friday night that they should easily outdraw the other Wicomico Recreation, Parks, and Tourism events (Autumn Wine Festival and Good Beer Festival) combined. I’d guess they’ll end up between 15,000 and 20,000 when all is said and done because today should be a good day for attendance.

Next year the event will migrate forward on the calendar as the third Friday of the month will be April 20th. Hopefully that will make a difference in the weather and things will be a little warmer in WinterPlace.

Weekend of local rock volume 32

This is an example of judicious editing, as I could have easily put up 40 shots – instead I distilled it to 14.

A week ago Kim and I were at Pork in the Park as two earlier posts this week suggest. But I intentionally held off on doing the musical portion until now. On Saturday a total of eight bands performed and we saw six – seven if you count the tail end of Power Play.

We pick up the action with the ’80s cover band Riot Act. They won their spot by winning the Battle of the Bands last year, over my objection. But they came with one purpose:

Although they did a pretty good set, my socks stayed on throughout.

These guys are a five-piece band with one lady who alternates between guitar and keyboards.

The five players of Riot Act played during the early afternoon at Pork in the Park. Photo by Kimberley Corkran.

This year they didn’t have the several costume changes they featured last time I saw them at Pork in the Park. The biggest switch was this getup by the bassist who does their short rap segment.

This part of the show was where they segued Van Halen's 'Jamie's Cryin' into a rap song and back.

This will give you a good idea of the crowd who was watching.

It was a fairly decent afternoon crowd during Pork in the Park and a lot of folks got into Riot Act. Photo by Kimberley Corkran.

I’m the kind of guy who will give the benefit of the doubt to local musicians. But the singer really needs to work on remembering the proper lyrical sequences – he messed up 2 or 3 times that I noticed.

A guy who I doubt messed up on lyrics (or if he did I wouldn’t have known) was Tom Principato, who followed Riot Act on stage. It was a definite transition from ’80s glam to a blues-rock gumbo. Speaking of gumbo, it’s part of the title to one of his several CD’s which were available for sale there.

I don't know if the lady is Mrs. Principato or just a fan, but she was moving and grooving to what Tom and his band were laying down.

Tom is also a Pork in the Park veteran who was here in the same timeslot last year. He may have even wore the same shirt.

Blues-rock guitarist Tom Principato once again held court at Pork in the Park. Next month he's back in the area, playing a show in Berlin.

But he and his band kept the crowd entertained as they prepared for the awards ceremony.

The four parts of Tom Principato's band. It's sort of unique to have both a drummer and percussionist to go with bass and lead guitars.

And, just like last year, after the awards ceremony we were treated to the Southern rock of Smokin’ Gunnz. They also had their swag for sale, but part of the picture is intended to show how breezy it was out there.

Yes, it was a little breezy out there. I was tempted to pick up the long-sleeved rebel flag shirt just for an extra layer.

One thing I liked about Smokin’ Gunnz is that they play a wide variety of songs from the genre. They started with five Lynard Skynard songs but they weren’t the five you may expect – there were some forgotten gems in there too.

They didn't just play 'Free Bird' when they played Skynard - Smokin' Gunnz can play some of the deeper album cuts too.

And here’s to wireless equipment.

Say hello to your friendly neighborhood lead guitarist.

Speaking of equipment, could you imagine the chaos which would ensue if someone spilled their Yuengling on this bad boy?

This is what you call a professional sound rig. As windy as it was, the sound came across really well so thumbs up to the crew here.

As the day turned into night and the wind kept a-howlin’, the crowd thinned out somewhat for the 95.9 The Sports Animal Battle of the Bands. The station changed format (it used to be 96 Rock) after the event was announced, so I wonder if edition 3 will occur next year.

Unlike last year, just 3 bands participated, with two of them being repeat performers. One of them was Order 6-D6.

When I saw them back in January, Order 6-D6 talked about getting another guitarist but this was still the same four-piece band.

With there only being 3 bands each played four songs, with Order 6-D6 choosing 3 originals and one cover song. I think being first up hurt them again because they didn’t win; perhaps they should have again.

Next up was Dakota John, who played as I recall a two original, two cover set. They were the only band I saw who hadn’t played here last year – yet they’re from Salisbury.

Dakota John showed a lot of energy and promise. While they're not quite there yet, they have the potential to be a solid band.

I think I would have liked them better if the vocals had been more pronounced. The lady can sing but I had a hard time figuring out just what she was singing. Maybe it was the cold.

Your winner was CIA, which stands for Conjured in Absence. Good thing I scored a shirt because now I can remember that. (It was tossed out and landed right by me, so I picked it up. I didn’t pull any journalistic strings.)

I'm curious to know what these guys sound like with their regular guitarist. The player on the far left stepped in 10 days before since their regular guitar player couldn't make the show.

I wouldn’t have given them first because having the fill-in guitarist made them a bit rough around the edges musically, but they went last and that seems to be a good spot, plus their best song was the original song they did to close the show. To me they were a close second but I’m not a judge.

And maybe I was just popsicle-frozen by then since the temperature had dipped into the low 50’s and the wind was whipping the flags around Pork in the Park. I was glad to be in a warm car because Kim couldn’t take the cold and left before CIA began.

As part of winning, I believe CIA gets to play as part of the “Suds at the Shorebirds” event next Saturday. (Damn, I have to miss it – couldn’t you have picked a date where I wasn’t at our spring convention?) So you can go and judge for yourself whether they deserved to win.

Pork in the Park 2010 in pictures and text (part 2)

Now for the more fun stuff. This isn’t going to make a point; it’s just pics I found interesting.

This was the back of the event shirt. Yes I bought one.

Obviously the idea of this festival is to promote tourism and the local economy. No question the ribs are the attraction, but other vendors hoped their wares were sufficient to make theirs a profitable weekend too.

It's not just barbecue-related companies showing up at Pork in the Park. Build a crowd and other vendors will come.

Aren't these guys from Boordy Vineyards at the wrong festival? They're regulars at the Autumn Wine Festival, and I find it interesting how the two largest county-sponsored festivals occur almost exactly six months apart on the calendar.

When I came to the Eastern Shore six years ago and attended my first Pork in the Park, I was expecting an event similar to that held in my hometown (Northwest Ohio Rib-Off) where 20 or so rib joints peddled their wares to the public. I was actually disappointed that only a couple places were actually selling ribs to eat.

But as this event grows more and more places are selling ribs to eat. These are some of them and aside from Florida Skin n’ Bones I believe many of these vendors are new this year.

The Chop Shop BBQ both competed and sold food, part of a growing trend I like seeing.

I actually meant to try some of these ribs but didn't make it over there. This Ohio-based company shows the regional reach of the event.

More and more competitors are selling their wares - a good sign for the viability of the event.

Like any good food event, you could get more than just ribs.

If the other other white meat is your thing, how about barbecued turkey legs?

Another new attraction came from Mountaire, oddly enough playing in Perdue’s back yard.

Mountaire is new to Pork in the Park, and they had a Chicken Pickin contest to determine who could root out the most meat.

There’s a few other interesting shots the two of us took. Some have a point and others are just for the “awwwwww” factor.

Aside from a few incidents where people had too many beers and maybe a lost child or two, these guys probably weren't too busy so they could find a little shade. Photo by Kimberley Corkran.

Maybe the reason Black Cat BBQ didn't win any awards was having the dog scare them away. Kim liked the juxtaposition of the photo and so did I. Photo by Kimberley Corkran.

Philly's Finest BBQ team is starting their help young. Isn't this young lady just too cute? Photo by Kimberley Corkran.

It can't be denied that competitors have a wicked sense of humor. We found this at the Carolina Beau booth. Photo by Kimberley Corkran.

Sunset on Saturday over Pork in the Park. I just liked the picture so I included it.

The games midway after dark. I took this during a break in the Battle of the Bands.

Can you tell we enjoyed ourselves Saturday? Probably wasn’t that great for the waistline but we did walk around a lot and rocked to the Battle of the Bands, if only to keep warm!

Next year’s event again retreats a little earlier on the calendar; the 8th Annual Pork in the Park is slated for April 15-17, 2011.

Pork in the Park 2010 in pictures and text (part 1)

On Saturday my significant other and I spent most of the day at Pork in the Park. It provides us the opportunity to enjoy good food, taking lots of pictures – which explains why I have two parts – and a chance to tell a story from perhaps a different angle from one you may have seen before.

During the awards ceremony, we were told that our humble little event has grown in seven years to be the second largest in the country and largest east of the Mississippi River. I guess that’s based on the number of participants, but it amazes me that something a lot of us guys take for granted has grown into a pastime which can take up most of a summer. Yes, leisure has become work for many, including what I presume is a local group called Smokin’ More Than Pork.

This group didn't have far to travel but spent a chilly and windy evening tending their fire. Photo by Kimberley Corkran.

Other groups come from farther away, and they have one thing in mind.

The Heavy Hitters sit and watch the world go by from their spot at Pork in the Park. Photo by Kimberley Corkran.

Obviously they didn't sit the whole time - their hard work garnered them a second place finish in the Whole Hog category. Photo by Kimberley Corkran.

Certainly slaving over a hot grill for hours on end can be demanding work.

Unfortunately, I don't recall who this competitor represented but it was a scene repeated all Friday night and Saturday. Photo by Kimberley Corkran.

I found this shirt worn by the folks at Mook’s BBQ interesting. If you didn’t think this was big business, check out this ambitious “Inaugural Tour” schedule:

I would have to presume a number of these outfits are going to follow a similar schedule which takes them into the fall. Pork in the Park serves as the kickoff.

It also takes some funding to buy the equipment necessary to compete at the level, like these special trailers.

Chix, Swine, and Bovine had this tricked out trailer to help with their equipment. I would guess it comes in handy for catering jobs too. Photo by Kimberley Corkran.

Other competitors used items which were more 'off-the-shelf' but still serviceable. Photo by Kimberley Corkran.

Part of the marketing involves the bragging rights garnered from previous high finishes.

Butts Up BBQ has been here before and done well. Photo by Kimberley Corkran.

Others have various wares to sell to grilling enthusiasts.

If you want to rub your meat, it's obvious 3Eyz BBQ has just the stuff you need. Photo by Kimberley Corkran.

This is the first time I've seen shirts put out by a competitor tailored to the event. I guess we've arrived. Photo by Kimberley Corkran.

There were a few outfits using these Big Green Eggs but the manufacturer came by to sell some as well. Photo by Kimberley Corkran.

Others chose their distinctiveness in different ways.

If these guys walked anywhere, you could pretty much tell who they represented. But doesn't sauce clash with tie-dye? Photo by Kimberley Corkran.

In the end, though, the competition was about the money. All those trinkets and toys cost some coin, and top finishes in the seven categories won up to $1,000. The Grand Champion, Reserve Champion, and Maryland State Champion also won additional prizes up to $2,500 – needless to say this hobby isn’t lucrative unless you do some additional marketing or have it as an adjunct to a main food service business.

But here were your winners from Saturday.

The Reserve Champion for this year's event was the Serial Grillers. Clever name and obviously good work. Photo by Kimberley Corkran.

Considering they were both the Maryland State Champion and Grand Champion for the event, I believe Chix, Swine, and Bovine can afford the fancy trailer. Photo by Kimberley Corkran.

You may have noticed Kim took most of these pictures. I tended to look at the event as a whole for its newsworthiness and as a comparison to past events. Most of my photography will come with Part 2 tomorrow as will the later coverage of the music as another volume of Weekend of local rock.