Town of Mount Olive issued the following announcement on Nov. 10.
Pickles. Pigs. Swigs. It all comes together for the first time ever in downtown Mount Olive later this month.
Set for Saturday, November 20, Pickles, Pigs & Swigs will benefit the Mount Olive Downtown Development Corporation. Featured, of course, are Mt. Olive Pickles, craft beer from Mount Olive-based R&R Brewing, and a North Carolina Pork Council-sanctioned Whole Hog Cooking Competition.
First, the pigs. The 20-team cooking competition gets underway Friday evening in the Mount Olive Town Hall parking lot. Judging takes place Saturday morning, and the winners will be announced at 11 a.m.
“We have a great line-up of teams cooking in the competition, including several former state champions,” said Julie Beck, president of the Mount Olive Area Chamber of Commerce and the event chairman. “This event will really feature some of the best Eastern North Carolina barbecue around.”
BBQ pork plates, $10 each, go on sale beginning at 11 a.m. at the festival downtown on Center Street, and in a drive-through set up at the Mount Olive Historic Depot.
Saturday’s festival runs from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the Southern Bank park at the Corner of Center and Main, the site of the 150th anniversary mural. That’s where the pickles and the swigs come in.
The day features live bluegrass, free Mt. Olive Pickles, a beer garden run by R&R Brewing, antique tractors, vendors, and rides on the Pickle Train.
“We’ll have some tables and chairs set up at the corner, and we encourage folks to bring their own chairs,” Ms. Beck said. “We see this as a laid back afternoon where people can sit down, eat a plate of barbecue, have a beer, listen to live music, take in the other activities and simply enjoy a great fall afternoon.”
Wilson-based Shannon Baker & Sometime Soon kicks off the musical line up at 11 a.m., followed by local favorites The Harmony Boys from 1:30-3:30. Riggsbee Road, an all-female country and bluegrass band from Raleigh led by Mount Olive native Shelley Kelly, rounds out the day from 4-6 p.m.
For those who are more interested in barbecue than the festivities, a drive-through will run throughout the afternoon at the Mount Olive Depot, with access from both Main and James streets.
Advance tickets for the barbecue plates are available at Mount Olive Town Hall, the chamber office (123 N. Center Street), R & R Brewing, and the Mt. Olive Pickle Gift Shop. However, plates can also be purchased the day of the event, and tickets are not required.
The event is a joint effort of the chamber, the Town of Mount Olive and the Mount Olive Downtown Community Development Committee. Proceeds will be used to help fund a master plan for downtown. Major sponsors include Smithfield Foods, Mt. Olive Pickle, Southern Bank, Capital Chevrolet of Wake Forest, and Barbara Kornegay.
“We have a great group of people working on this, and the plans are really coming together,” Ms. Beck said. “This event has generated a good bit of excitement, so we really can’t wait to see how it all unfolds.”
For more information, contact:
Julie Beck at 919-658-3113, or president@mountolivechamber.com
Lynn Williams at 919-581-3628, or lwilliams@mtolivepickles.com
Cutlines:
Riggsbee Road, an all female country and bluegrass band from Raleigh, led by Mount Olive Shelley Kelly, performs at Pickles, Pigs & Swigs Saturday, November 20 from 4-6 p.m.
Local favorites The Harmony Boys, from left Coy Brock, brothers Bobby and Lynwood Herring, and Marshall Jameson, perform at Pickles, Pigs & Swigs in downtown Mount Olive November 20 from 1:30-3:30 p.m.
Wilson-based Shannon Baker and Sometime Soon kicks off the entertainment at Pickles, Pigs & Swigs Saturday, November 20, performing from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Pickles, Pigs & Swigs
Mount Olive Area Chamber of Commerce 123 N. Center Street, Mount Olive, NC 28365
919-658-3113 / president@mountolivechamber.com
Original source can be found here.
Source: Town of Mount Olive
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