25 May 2010 Great Arkansas Pig Out: Some things never change

“They never thought it would be this big,” says 2010 GAPO Committee Chairperson Kristi Strain when recalling the pioneer GAPO organizers.

Having lived her entire life in Conway County, she still remembers the first festival back in 1988. “When the first festival was held, it was supposed to be just another small town Arkansas festival.”

Eventually, the festival gained state, national and international recognition. The British Broadcasting Company (BBC) even sent a crew to Conway County to document GAPO in 1998. Through the years, the festival has attracted names from the entertainment world such as the Bellamy Brothers, Jerry Reed, Restless Heart, Aaron Tippin and even Cletus T. Judd, in addition to local up-and-coming and favorite classic bands of the country music genre. Since the beginning, GAPO has always revolved around food, fun and family, and this year’s festival is no exception.

The 2010 festival kicks off at 5 p.m. Friday, June 25, when the Morrilton City Park opens with arts and crafts, commercial vendors and children’s activities, including a climbing wall, fire safety house, pony rides and more. For adults, the annual tennis tournament and Pig Dig volleyball game are held.

The real centerpiece of the festival is the famous “Pig Out Alley,” where patrons will find traditional festival food, including corndogs, funnel cakes and burgers coupled with more exotic fare like chicken on a stick, onion blossoms, shrimp, cheesecake on a stick, Mexican food and more. Free entertainment on the main stage begins at 5:30 p.m. Friday with the baby bathing beauty contest, followed by the Culpepper Mountain Band. Then

Conway County native Matt Stell and his band, The Crashers, and the Randy Rogers Band round out the night.
The fun continues Saturday, June 26 at 7 a.m. with the 5K walk/run followed by the Sooie Slo-Pitch softball tournament, Tour de Oink Bike Ride and Piggy Dash 1K Family Fun Run. Nearly 25 children’s activities on Saturday include laser tag, bungee jumping, bull riding, dino puzzles, arts and crafts activities, an ice cube relay and balloon tag.

Many of the activities are available free of charge, making a day at GAPO possible even for families on a budget. Some of the more unique elements of the festival are held Saturday, including the Petit Jean Hot Dog Eating Contest, national hog calling contest and perhaps the most famous activity dubbed simply “The Pig Chase.” This highly-anticipated event showcases dozens of children chasing and attempting to get their hands on a slippery pig in a huge pit of mud.

A definite spectator’s delight, the Pig Chase has been described as “good, clean fun at its dirtiest.” Free entertainment Saturday evening includes Chuck Allen Floyd and the headlining entertainer, Wade Bowen, beginning at 9 p.m.

While the local community has always supported GAPO, the festival planning committee has recently shown a renewed interest in supporting endeavors within the community. For the second consecutive year, the GAPO Committee voted to designate a portion of festival proceeds to support the Conway County School Counts! initiative, which provides scholarships to help encourage Conway County students to attend college. According to Strain, “We decided to support and promote higher education to students by partnering with School Counts! again this year, further emphasizing the value of education to area parents, students, residents and businesses.”

While GAPO has evolved from a simple, small town festival into a widely recognized part of life in central Arkansas, food, fun and family remain the foundation for the event.  More information, including a complete event schedule, can be found at www.pigout.info.