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Front Porch: Pig Out’s one big event I embrace

I’m not a crowd person.

I’ve never done Bloomsday. I avoid the interstate fair, and I’ve attended Hoopfest only once – and that was just to support my son.

But there is one highly peopled annual event I never miss. That’s right. I’m a Pig Out in the Park participant. Or porker.

Pig Out is a Labor Day weekend family tradition. A chance to savor strange and exotic foods like Sausage Jambalaya or Fried Pop Tarts, and hear great music from bands like The Yardbirds or Big Mumbo Blues Band.

This year marked the event’s 33rd anniversary. Despite complaints about its inelegant name, Pig Out in the Park remains one of Spokane’s most popular festivals.

What’s not to like? There’s always something yummy for the pickiest eater to snack on and something amazing for the choosiest music fan to enjoy. The festival features 54 food booths offering 255 menu items, none of them over $9.25, and three adult beverage gardens. Not to mention 100 FREE concerts on three stages.

This year we didn’t want to miss Peter Rivera, so Thursday, Derek and I cut out of work early, picked up the boys and headed downtown.

You can smell Pig Out before you see it. The fragrance of bacon and barbecue forms a tantalizing cloud over Riverfront Park that lures thousands of hungry people to the bustling hive of vendor booths.

Over the years we’ve perfected our Pig Out routine. We do a walk-by of the food booths and encourage the kids to make the full circuit before choosing their selection. But it’s hard to keep walking when folks stroll past clutching buttery, golden ears of corn-on-the-cob or holding steaming platters of barbecue pork ribs.

After our initial survey, we give the kids their spending money and split up. Derek made his food decision quickly. He wouldn’t budge from the Phat Truck. “Look at that sandwich,” he said. “It’s got it all.”

Indeed, his Cuban-infused PHAT Fidel was served on tasty grilled bread and overflowed with juicy ham and bacon goodness. But that’s not the only offering from this vendor. The official Twitter account for the event, @SpokanePigOut, opined, “I think the dudes at Phat Truck serve the PHAT Chick just cuz they like to yell out ‘Phat Chick’ without offending anyone.”

Derek patiently waited for me to make up my mind, but I wavered. Did I want the Blackened Salmon I’d enjoyed last year? Was it time to finally try a Fried Catfish Po’ Boy?

In the end I settled for a delicious plateful of food from Taste of India: Chicken Tikka, Chicken Korma, rice and Garlic Naan.

Pig Out should be about the adventure of trying new foods, but Zack stuck with mainstream and was less than impressed with his healthy choice of a chicken wrap. “What were you thinking?” I asked.

“I dunno,” he replied. “I was hungry. It was there.”

Sam made his dad proud by consuming a bacon-wrapped hot dog. “Now, that’s Pig Out food!” Derek said.

We let our tummies settle and listened to a couple of local bands at the Runner’s Stage before embarking on our dessert quest.

I already knew what I wanted, a treat I have only once a year – chocolate-dipped cheesecake on a stick. Derek chose peanut-butter chocolate-dipped cheesecake. You can see why we only indulge this way at Pig Out.

Zack redeemed his bland chicken wrap experience by ordering a deep-fried Snickers bar, and Sam reached his sugar/fat zenith by consuming a deep-fried Twinkie.

Of course it’s possible to enjoy lower-fat and vegetarian foods at Pig Out, but honestly, why would you? As a Twitter friend posted, “Enjoy Spokane’s answer to the fight against obesity!”

Sated, we staggered to the Clocktower Meadow, spread out our “concert quilt” and collapsed as we waited for the Peter Rivera concert.

Soon, the world-renowned drummer took the stage with his band and proceeded to pound out some of the best music we’d heard this summer – and we’ve heard a lot of music.

The crowd was on its feet as Rivera rocked “Good Time Sally” and “Ma.”

As the sun set we walked across the Howard Street Bridge, pausing to enjoy the breathtaking beauty of the falls. Detractors may mock its name, but Pig Out in the Park offers Spokanites a wonderful sampling of food and music. Isn’t that what “culture” is all about?

All I know is this little piggy smiled her way through the crowds and said oui, oui, oui all the way home.

Contact Cindy Hval at dchval@juno.com. Her previous columns are available online at spokesman.com/columnists. Follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/#!/cindyhval.

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